Cardfight Vanguard G - Reborn
by Chronofang12
Summary: After getting a mysterious package containing a blank Vanguard card I found myself in the world of Cardfight Vanguard G as Shindou Chrono. Now I have to live my new life as one of my favorite anime characters as I try to find meaning in my life.
1. Prologue: In a new world

_**Prologue Chapter : In a new world.**  
_

* * *

(Human World)

Hi people of the world,my name is Ryuga and I am waiting for my mail to arrive which should contain the Gear Chronicle cards from the latest G set known as Divine Dragon Apocrypha where I finally can get my hands on Chronojet Dragon Z, and the art of the card is so awesome.

"It's here! It finally arrived,time to open my delivery" I said as I was opening the package that not only it had the cards I ordered but it also contained a blank Vanguard card in there.

"Weird, I don't recall ordering it a mistake?" I asked to myself when all of a sudden the card itself shined as I was blinded by the light and my vision went blank.

* * *

(Cardfight Vanguard G World)

All of a sudden I see myself being guided by a man that was a familiar Anime character, then I saw myself in the mirror and oh boy,I was in for a surprise alright. I WAS SHINDOU CHRONO for god's sake.

"How did this happen?" I said asking to myself as Shindou Rive while holding my hand and I went to Ryuuzu's lab.

When we entered we were greeted by a very familiar voice that I heard only once,then we saw the man known as Myoujin Ryuzu,he was still an young adult instead of his child form from the Anime,"Welcome Rive and this young child is?" Ryuzu asked to his old friend while looking at me.

"Ryuzu this is my son Shindou Chrono. Chrono,say hello to Myoujin " My father said as he introduced me to his old friend.

"Hello Myoujin-san, my name is Shindou Chrono" I said introducing myself to Ryuzu as he stared at me with a friendly look.

"Same here Chrono-kun." Ryuuzu returned the greeting as he quickly went to speack with Rive as they were discussing about Cray.

Afterwards Rive and Ryuuzu restarted their atemps to enter in contact with Planet Cray,I did exactly what Chrono did and moments later I heard Chrono Dran's voice.I replied to it and then when Rive saw me replying to Dran, he tried to shut off the machine,but it ended it with a bang and everything went dark around me.

* * *

(Unknown Place)

"Where am I?" I ask to no one in particular while wandering around in the void until I heard a voice.

"Are you the one who contacted me? Chrono Dran asked me.

"Yes,I am Shindou Ryuga." I answered to him with the name that I made up in this world.

"As for me I am Chrono Dran" Chrono Dran replies as he returns the greeting.

Suddenly I heard a voice that sounded amused, I turned around to see someone I didn't expect to see, "Well,well,well it seems that something interesting just happened" it was none other than the Evil God Bishop Gastille staring at me with a blank expression.

'Why is Gastille here? I don't recall him being involved at this point in Vanguard G,so what is going on here?' I asked to myself as Gastille was trying to see throught me.

"Who are you and why are you here?" I asked him with an worried expression in my face while looking at him.

"It's a bit rude that you ask me for my identity before introducing yourself. Regardless my name is Evil God Bishop Gastille and I am the leader of the Apostles a cult whoose purpose is to serve and ressurect Lord Gyze. And for why I am here it is because I felt a disturbance in Cray that was not caused by me nor a natural phenomenon,so I decided to come and see for myself what was going on." He introduces himself while explaining his intentions.

"Ryuga run! He is dangerous!" Chrono Dran yells at me while warning me about the danger that I was in.

"Interesting,it seems that child has managed to come to Planet Cray from the world were the Zeroth Dragons have been sealed by Fides." Gastille says that he suddenly comes to realize something.

"Could it be that there is a way to reach that land?" Gastille has reached the most amazing conclusion that he has ever reached as he was having all kinds of thoughts about it.

'Crap!I need to get out of here' I thought as gastille realized that his goal was within his reach and I WAS the answer that he was seeking.

But I just dissapeared alongside Dran to the leader of Gyze's cult leader's surprise as he was left to his thoughts.

(Moments later...)

"Your highness,what happaned here?" Blue Wave Marshal,Valeos arrives shortly after Ryuga and Chrono Dran left.

"Valeos, I finally found a way to reach the Zeroth Dragons that were sealed away by Fides and the cursed sword itself." He says Fides names alongside the sword with venom in his tone.

"How did you do it your highness?" Valeos asks to his leader as he couldn't understand how it was done.

"I wasn't me who did it,but a single child from another world." Gastille tells Valeos about what transpired between himself,Dran and Ryuga. At that Valeos's expression went maniac as he starts to laught.

"What coincidence,what fate,who would have thought that a single child would be the one to gives us the light at the end of the tunnel that we have been searching for so long! But your highness,how are we going there now since the child is gone?" Valeos asks Gastille as he just realize that they don't have an actual way to reach Earth.

"He already gaves us a hint of what may happen in a near future and it seems that Cray and the world where the Zeroth Dragons are sealed away may connect. All we have to do now is wait until that happens. As for that boy,I am sure we will meet each other again, after all...no one can escape from the curse called destiny." Gastille finishes speaking as he was exited that his efforts to ressurect his lord were not in vain and the results were starting to show up at a pace that he didn't expect.

'But most importantly,that was the legendary Gear Chronicle unit wasn't it?' He was still thinking about the fact that the boy was accompanied by a legendary unit like Chrono Dran.

* * *

(Outside of Ryuuzu's lab)

I woke up with Rive carring me on his back as he keeps telling me to forget everything that I just saw.

"Dad, what happened to Myoujin-san?" I asked while faking concern for the fate of the the Child-Adult that would cause trouble latter on the line.

"He is alright Chrono,but you need to sleep for now." Rive replies to me while he keeps going as far as he can so that Ryuzu can't figure out that it was me who called Dran over to this world.

"Chrono? My name is Ryuga,don't get my name wrong dad." I said to a shocked Rive as he believes that I forgot that my name was Chrono while thinking that it was because of his suggestion for me to forget everything I saw and I took advantage of it in order to decide my name while I was in this Anime.

"I see,do you remember anything asides from your name?" He asks me as I told him that all I "remembered" was everything except for the fact that I saw Chrono Dran, Rive accepts my answers as it was the logical that since I forgot meeting Chrono Dran, I forgot that my name was Chrono and as result my mind took an alternative name for myself,from his point of view that is.

(1 Year Later.)

After I woke up my father was already gone and later Shindou Mikuru left me in a orphanage as she wanted to keep me in a safe inviroment away from Ryuzu. However I did not want to associate with any of the other children there and there were atempts of bullying as a result,so in order to survive in that kind of place in the body of a child,I had no other choice but to retalliate against the bullies otherwise I would have become a toy for entertainment purposes, but I oftenly got scolded because of the severity of the injuries that I dealt to them, sometimes when I was in a bad mood,instead of going easy on them,let's say that it didn't ended up well for them and leave at it.

Half year latter,Mikuru decided to bring me to her home since there were a lot of complaints about my behaviour and obviously scolded me,but I just justified myself so she wasn't so angry after understanding what I went throught there and how lonely I felt after everything that happened since the incident.

"Ryuga, are you alright?" Shindou Mikuru asks me as we went to what will soon be the appartment complex were Chrono lives his daily live by himself.

"Yes,but I need some time to myself if you don't mind Mikuru-san " I answered as my aunt silently agreed as we arrived to the appartment.

After we entered, Mikuru went to make dinner for both of us and said nothing as we ate the food that she served to the table and I went to my room after washing my teeth.

"Now I have to prepare myself for the battles that will come in a few years and wait for Ibuki to put the Gear Chronicle deck in my shoe locker,what a drag". I said to myself as I thought while thinking of my new life.

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 **Prologue's over. Next chapter is the start of the Main story, don't forget to review if you have anything to say.**


	2. Turn 1 - Shindou Ryuga

**Turn 1 : Shindou Ryuga**

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A few years have passed since Ryuga had his small accident that led him to the world of Vanguard G and started to call himself Shindou Ryuga instead who would pass up the opportunity of living in the same world and experiences that the protagonist of one of your favorite Animes would go through and best part of all,you get to change your name with the pretense of amnesia. Where was I? Oh yeah, I was just going to the junior highschool where Chrono used to go on a daily basis until I got the Gear Chronicle Deck from Ibuki in the shoe lock, then my adventures as a cardfighter could actually begin.

One day when Ryuga was going to get his school shoes, he sees the Gear Chronicle Deck right in the spot where he was going to place his regular shoes. 'Finally!' Ryuga thought as he noticed that Ibuki had been following him around for the past few days.

"So the "stalker" has finally decided to place the Deck in my shoe locker huh?" Ryuga mutters to himself as Ibuki Kouji sneezed as he was in a meeting in the United Sanctuary branch.'I would like to see if is the same trial deck from the G series but right now I must go to class.' Ryuuga finishes his line of thought as he went to the classroom after placing the deck in his school jacket.

The class just went on really quick and then the students were given a small task of having to writte what is their future dream, it was a bit pointless,but it also shows how much a person may actually care about their lives. Ryuga quickly writtes his current dream and who ever reads it will find this as a joke,but perhaps it is what many people really desire,but only time can tell. Ryuga just gave the paper that he just finished to the green haired known as Anjou Tokoha and left the classroom.

(A few minutes later)

* * *

 _ **Future Dream 2nd Year, Class B Shindou Ryuga**_

 **My dream? I have a dream that is shared with most people of this world that is one single thing. "The End of this World and the beginning of a new one". I concluded that most individuals will reach this answer sooner or later at some point in their lives,but none can speak it out freely since it would isolate them from the boundaries know as 'society' and as such it really depends if one wants something like this to happen or just decide to get an aim of their own.**

* * *

Anjou Mamoru's little sister just stared at Shindou Ryuga's paper with a surprised look as she couldn't figure it out why the most anti-social person of the school would write something like this.

(Later)

Ryuga was just seating on the school courtyard eating a bread by himself while checking out his new Gear Chronicle deck that had some differences from the one of the Anime,except for a few cards,that was until he heard a shout.

"Hey stop!" A bunch of cards fell out of a second-story window right next to the Gear Chronicle kid .Ryuga decided to grab the cards and reorganize them as they were all "Seeker" Royal paladin cards. A few minutes later the bullies came to reclaim "their" cards as the victim was looking down with an hesitant face. However when they saw Ryuuga's face they knew that trouble was coming right up and the guess was indeed proven truth when he handed over the cards to the kid that was obviously being bullied by them.

"Shindou weren't you listening to us? Those cards are ours and-" They were interrupted when Ryuga asked them,"Do you have a problem with that?" they gulped in fear at that and the second bully decided to rush in and punch him but Ryuga easily evaded it while making him trip to the ground, the other bully took advantage of the brieve distraction and took the cards from the kid who that had them returned earlier.

"Seriously! Couldn't you have tried to resist a bit until I dealt with them?" Ryuga told the kid who had a look of someone who was about to cry.

'I am really getting tired of this charade so time to do what people usually do in this Anime...fight...no it is not the usual punch and kicking other people that everyone here seems to enjoy for some will be a cardfight.' Ryuga finished his thoughts as he starts to crack his fists as the bullies and the viewers believed that he was going to resort to violence in order to get what he wanted,but to their surprise Ryuga pulled out a vanguard deck that was in his jacket and decided to show them the Gear Chronicle deck and to the surprise of the bullies they noticed that the clan that Ryuuga's deck belonged to was unusual.

"Gear Chronicle? I never heard of that clan before." The bully who got up states this.

"If I win the fight you will hand over that deck to me,if I lose then you will get this Deck agreed?" Ryuga made the proposal knowing that he will not loose to the likes of them.

"Fine! After I win I will get a Deck that no one has and become the best cardfight that there is." The bully that has the stolen deck says this as he thinks that he can actually win. Afterwards they went to Ryuga's classroom where Tokoha was and she sees them entering.

(Meanwhile ...)

"So that was Shindou? I thought for a moment that things were going to get rough" A random student mutters.

"What do you mean?" A random girl from the same class asks the person who just said that.

"There is a rumor that he beated up three highschoolers because they smoked on his face and ever since he became feared amongs the students due injuries that he dealt to them." He explains her the reason why Shindou Ryuga beated them up as Kiba Shion was more interested in the fact that Shindou Ryuga had a Vanguard deck.

(A few minutes later in the classroom)

"Shindou, what are you doing here?" Tokoha asks Ryuga was back in the classroom.

"Anjou,it is not of your business and asides I have something to take care of with these two" Ryuga says to her as he joins two tables together, then sits on a table and places his starting vanguard face-down,placing 2 g-unit cards his G-zone and shuffle his Deck while the bully does the same,but he doesn't include any G-units. Tokoha gives a suprised look when she sees Ryuga shuffling his deck.

"Shindou, you are a cardfighter?" Tokoha asks surprised that someone like Ryuga is a cardfighter.

Ryuga decided to tell a half-truth to them all,"Actually, this is my first cardfight,but I already know the rules, so you don't need to worry about it." at that they had a look that was clearly asking him if he was mad or something.

"Please Shindou-san,you must win so I take my Deck back from them, otherwise you wil lose your Deck" The bullied kid implores to Ryuga as Tokoha now understood what was going on.

"Don't you guys have any shame for doing something like that at school?! And Shindou what do you think your deck is?! An item that you can just gamble without any hesitation,especially when you are just a beginner?! " Tokoha scolds them as the words goes throught their ears in and out,in other words,no one was listenning.

At that the two bullies starts to laught at Ryuga's lack of concern,"Hahahaha, Shindou you will regret this for sure,do you still want to do this?"

Ryuga just decided to ignore them as he did the mulligan and redrew 2 cards from his deck,"Let's just focus on the match instead of wasting anymore time ok? The winner of Rock-Papers-Scissors is going first,is it fine by you?" Ryuga asks to the bully.

"Sure,why not." The bully agreed as he did a mulligan of 1 card.

"Rock-Papers-Scissor! I lost so it seems that you will go fist." Ryuga says to him with a neutral expression on his face as he start to unflip his first vanguard to reveal it as the bully does the same.

"Stand up Owari no Vanguard!"

"Stand up,Vanguard!"

They shout at the same time as they reveal their starting vanguards.

(Imaginated field- Inverse World)

"Tick-tock Dracokid (G0/PW 5000/SD 10000)" Ryuga states the name of his starting Vanguard. A green colored dragon with two wings that had a blue clock floating on each side appears as the dragon is flying in a inverted position.

"Composed Seeker Lucius (G0/PW 5000/SD 10000)" the bully declares the name of the starting Vanguard of the deck he stole from the bullied kid. A small warrior appears on the field as it almost looses balance due to the fact that gravity is inversed in this field.

"I have never seen that unit before,is it a new clan Shindou?" Tokoha asks Ryuga as she sees a unit from a clan that isn't known yet.

"Anjou this is Gear Chronicle, a clan that can manipulate time to it's advantage. Now if you don't mind,I need to focus on the cardfight." Ryuga answers Tokoha's question as well as hinting the specialty of the new clan.

Turn 1 - Bully 1 Damage: [] [] [] [] [] [] Hand:5

"Draw!Ride! Bravogal Seeker (G1/PW 7000/SD 5000)!" Lucious turns into a silver wolf.

"I move Lucius to the RG circle behing my Vanguard, your move Shindou." The bully says as the small warrior appears behind the silver wolf,the ends his turn.

Turn 2 - Shindou Ryuga Damage: [] [] [] [] [] [] Hand: 5

"Draw! Ride! Engineer Gear, Cellius (G1/PW 7000/SD 5000)" An mechanical humanoid gear takes Tick-tock's place as it was falling upwards because of the inversed gravity.

"I move Tick-Tock to the RG circle behind my vanguard" Ryuga moved starter to a position right behind his vanguard. Tick-Tock appears behind Cellius as it grabs it so that Cellius can fight without being affected by the inverse world's gravity.

"With a boost from Tick-Tock,Cellius attacks your vanguard (PW 12000)!" Ryuga declares the first attack of this fight. Tick-Tock flies Cellius against Bravogal Seeker.

"No guard" Was the bully's answer.

"Drive Check, Smokegear Dragon" Ryuga reveals the card as Cellius crashes against the silver wolf.

"Damage Check,tch critical trigger[Seeker,Hallowed Breath Dragon)](G0/PW 5000/SD 10000)." The bully says unhappy with the fact that his trigger was now useless.

"Turn end" Ryuga ends his move with a neutral expression.

Turn 3 - Bully 1 Damage : [Seeker,Hallowed Breath Dragon] [] [] [] [] [] Hand: 5

"Draw! Ride! Bladgal Seeker (G2/PW 8000/SD 5000)" The silver wolf turns into a brown dog with a white and blue gear.

"With a boost from Lucius ,Bladgal attacks your vanguard(PW 13000)!" Lucius rides Bladgal as the Dog goes straight to Cellius.

"No guard" Ryuga doesn't guard.

"Drive Check! Get Stand Trigger(Siren Seeker, Maris)! I stand Lucius and give the power to my vanguard (18000)" Cellius gear breaks a bit as it was bitten by Bladgal and hit by Lucius.

"Damage check! Get Heal trigger(Steam Maiden,Urulu),giving the power to my vanguard." Ryuga gives the PW to HIS vanguard knowing it was useless since the turn was about to be over.

"Turn End" The bully says.

Turn 4 - Shindou Ryuga Damage: [Steam Maiden,Urulu] [] [] [] [] [] Hand: 6

"Stand and Draw! Ride! Smokegear Dragon (G1/PW 10000/ SD 5000)!" Tick-Tock let go of Cellius as a dragon that was larger took Cellius's place and it could fly on it's own.

"Calling a second and third Smokegear Dragons to the left and right collums of the front row!" Ryuga declares as two more of the same dragon appear right by the first one's side.

"Smokegear on the right attacks your Vanguard!" The Smokegear on the right fires a green beam from it's mouth as it goes to the armored brown dog.

"Guard! Honest Seeker, Cynric! (SD 13000)" A warrior cuts the attack and defects it into another direction,then it salutes Bladgal as it vanishes.

"Smokegear Nº2 is next!" This time the Smokegear on the left did the same as the previous one.

"Guard! Bravogal Seeker! (SD 13000)" The silver wold appears as he takes the full hit with it's body and disappears afterwards.

"Tick-Tock boosts,Smokegear (PW 15000) attack his vanguard!" The two gear dragons fire their beams as they joined together making a larger one.

"No guard!" He decides to take the attack as it would leave him defensless later on if he atempted to guard it.

"Drive check! Get Critical trigger! (Steam Battler, Dadasig)(G0/PW 5000/SD 10000) All effects to my vanguard!" Smokegear reinforced the attack with a second dose of the beam that made the previous one double in size as it hits the armored dog.

"Damage Check! [Forthright Seeker, Egbert](G2/PW 9000/SD 5000) ! Second Check! [Forthright Seeker, Egbert](G2/PW 9000/SD 5000) no trigger damn." Ryuga's opponent complains as he is not happy at all.

Ryuga considers if he should activate Tick-Tock's skill after the attack hit,but decided not to.

"Keep it up Shindou, at this rate you will beat him!" the kid whose deck was stolen cheers as Ryuga and Tokoha thinks that the fight hasn't even proceded to the real stage just yet.

"Turn End." Ryuga ignored his previous comment not noticing that they were surrounded by a few people from another class including Kiba Shion.

Turn 5 - Bully 1 Damage : [Seeker,Hallowed Breath Dragon] [Forthright Seeker, Egbert] [Forthright Seeker, Egbert] [] [] [] Hand: 4

"Stand and Draw! Ride Forthright Seeker, Egbert (G3/PW 11000/SD 0)!" The armored dog now gained a human form that seemed to be more powerfull than before.

'At this rate he will beat me,I must take a risk,let's hope that he doesn't realize this' The bully thinks as he is about to do something that no honest fighter does.

"Call Rising Seeker, Mardux (G1/PW 7000/SD 5000)!" A purple armored knight with a red hair appeared on the field right next to Lucius.

"Skill activate! I rest this unit then I discard a "Seeker" unit from my hand then draw 1 card" The bully discards a critical Seeker(Seeker,Hallowed Breath Dragon)(G0/PW 5000/SD 10000)

"Calling 1 Full Bloom Seeker, Cerdic (G2/PW: 9000/SD 5000) to my right RG circle alongside Siren Seeker, Maris (G0/PW 5000/SD 10000)! And retire the Mardux that I am replacing in order to call Maris!" This time two knighs appeared as the second one was someone that has already showed hitself earlier. Then he does the same thing again as he calls another mardux,discards another hallow breath.

'Why is he going all out like that? It would only make sense if if was going to perform LEGION...it can't, he wouldn't dare,would he?' Ryuga thought as Anjou Tokoha and Kiba Shion were having similar thoughts about it.

"Seek Mate ! I return 4 cards from my drop zone to the deck then I search for 1 copy of Full Bloom Seeker, Cerdic and perform LEGION!" Cerdic just joined Egbert and the LEGION symbol appeared.

'There you have it, he just broke the rules of the game.' Ryuga finishes his line of thought as he started to get mad at him for doing that and it was shared by Anjou and Kiba but it wasn't shown in their faces.

"What do you think-"Tokoha tried to protest,but to her's and Kiba's surprise Ryuga held his right arm in her direction as if telling her to not interfere making them realize that he was aware of the cheating but still allowed it.

"Legion skill activate! Counterblast 2 and since I have 4 or more "Seeker" units on my field this unit gets PW 5000 plus 1 critical until the end of this gaze upon this Shindou! Lucius boosts (PW 30000 Crit 2),activating the skills of my attacking and boosting units (PW 35000 Crit 2) attack his Vanguard and finish him! Legion Attack!" The knights and Lucius gains an intense blue aura as it showing their increas in power as Egbert's blade was glowing with a golden color.

"Perferct Guard! Withdrawn Gear Raven (SD 0) !" Ryuga declares as he discarded 1 card from his hand which was Dasaig that he got in the previous drive check in order to pay the cost for the skill. Raven appeared in front of Smokegear as he stops both knighs with his wings.

"It can't be, he stopped it? In that case,Twin Drive! First, critical (Impact Seeker,Modoron)(G0/PW 5000/SD 10000) all effects to Cerdic! Second Check,get critical trigger (Impact Seeker,Modoron)(G0/PW 5000/SD 10000) all the effects goes to the same Cerdic" He places the boosts on his rear guard as it prepares for the next assault.

"Marius boosts (24000 Crit 3) Cerdic attacks your vanguard! Skill adding 2000 power (PW 26000 Crit 3) " The cheater declares as the attack continues. Cerdic goes to slash Smokegear.

"No guard" Ryuga said in a calm tone as Smokegear Dragon takes a hit from the dual knights three times making it scream in pain.

"Damage check...no trigger [Steam Striker,Workin](G1/PW 7000/SD 10000)...Second check get draw trigger [Luckypot Dracokid (G0/PW 4000/SD 5000)]PW to vanguard and draw, third check... no trigger [Steam Fighter,Amber (G2/PW 9000/SD 5000) ]".Ryuga ended the damage checks as the Smokegear Dragon in his Imagination is really mad at the Knights that have a mocking grins in their faces.

"Heh, I managed to turn the tides,Turn End" Cheater ends his turn as Ryuuga thought of him as pathetic.

Turn 6 - Shindou Ryuga Damage: [Steam Maiden,Uluru] [Luckypot Dracokid] [Steam Striker,Workin] [Steam Fighter,Amber] [] [] Hand: 3

"Stand and Draw. Bring me the Future that I seek to create! Ride! Chronojet Dragon (G3/PW 11000/SD 0)" Smokegear became the iconic Chronjet Dragon,the true leader of the Zodiac Time beasts and Chrono Dran's future self.

"Generation Zone...release!" Ryuga discards his second Chronojet Dragon from his hand in order to pay the cost for the Stride.

"Come from the future and and bring a new tomorrow! Stride! Ragnaclock Dragon (G4/PW 26000)!" Chronojet enters a gate as it transforms into a giant gear dragon.

"Next I call 2 Steam Striker, Workin to the RG circles that are still vacant" Two youths with yellow hats that had gears as eyes and a screwdrive as hands .

"Generation Break 1, during my turn Workin's PW will be increased by 4000 (PW 11000) if I have a Gear Dragon vanguard. Workin boosts the first Smokegear Dragon (PW 21000) and the target of the attack is none other than your vanguard" Ryuga declares as Smokegear heads up in the dual knight's direction as they prepare for the impact of the first attack.

'If I guard this one I won't have enought shield in order to guard the remaing attacks and there is a chance that he might get a critical trigger, I have to take it and hope for a Draw trigger.' The cheater thinks as he reaches the most logical conclusion.

"No guard! Damage check, Get Draw Trigger! I draw and give the power to my vanguard" The bully says as he got the best outcome possible for him.

"Tick-Tock boosts, Ragnaclock Dragon (PW 31000) attacks your vanguard! I will not activate it's skill."I said as I don't think it was worth it. Tick-Tock went to Ragna's head as it was trying to help,but the giant gear dragon just fired a gigantic green beam at the two knights.

"If he gets a critical trigger I will loose, Guard! " He decides to protect himself,but it is pointless since 2 critical triggers would settle the game.

"Triple Drive! First check,Critical trigger giving all effects to my VG (PW 3600 Crit 2), second check, Critical the same as earlier (PW 4100 Crit 3),final check, no trigger[Chronojet Dragon]." With this my Ragnaclocks crit went up to 3 as my gear dragon's beam increased it's size and hit the LEGION vanguard.

"It's not over yet,damage check...no trigger(Composed Seeker,Lucius,second check...[Margal(G0/PW 4000/SD 5000)] I lost" Cheater declared his defeat, the attack extinguished the two knights that took it and vanished from the battlefield.

"Next time you cheat,I will beat you up,so unless you have a death wish leave and don't show yourself before me again." Ryuga makes an ultimatum to the bully who in response,just got up and let the classroom leaving the stolen deck behind in a rush to escape the swirl headed-boy's wrath.

"He did it! He actually won even when his opponent cheated!" The bullied kid said as he picked up his cards from the table,then he turned his head in Ryuga's direction.

"Shindou-san, thank you for getting back my deck." He thanks him as he leaves the classroom as well.

Taking advantage of the situation, Ryuga going downstairs Kiba Shion asked him just one question.

"You went easy on him even after he cheated didn't you?" Kiba asks as he already knew the answer.

"I could have used Chronojet's stride skill and crumble his rear-guard earlier,but he wasn't worth of it and he was going to loose regardless, but I might reveal it to you if we ever fight." That was Ryuga's reply to Shion as he left the school premisses as he stares at his new found rival.

"I am looking forward to it Shindou Ryuga." Kiba also leaves.

(Card Capital 2)

Ryuga arrives at the spot that was on the map and sees a building with a sign with Card Capital 2 written on it and enter the building. He takes look around the shop and see a crowd gathered around Katsuragi Kamui taking on Anjou Mamoru in a cardfight, as their fight ended he tried to see who won but the crowd quickly blocked his path in order to get an autograph of the current Kagero clan leader, shortly afterwards Mamoru left the store.

Kamui turns around and sees Ryuga looking at him,"I never seen your face before,are you new around here?" asking him if he was a new player passing by.

"Yeah,I came here to register myself as an official vanguard fighter here if you don't mind." That was Ryuga's reply as Kamui seem to think that Ryuga just started to cardfight recently.

"What kind of clan do you use?" Kamui asks him while registing Shindou Ryuga as an official cardfighter. Instead of answering,he just show him the gear chronicle deck,then Kamui stops inputing data when he sees the unusual deck,"What is this clan? I haven't seen this before, are you sure that you're just beginning to play? And where did you get it?" Kamui asks Ryuga as he doesn't understand why a beginner (from his point of view) had a deck that no one has seen before.

"Would you believe that this deck was at my school shoe locker with a map that was pointing out to this shop?" Ryuga remarked while making a question of his own.

Kamui seems to be confused at the weid situation that was spoken,"Really? Who would have done that and why?"

"A stalker perhaps?" Ryuga replied to him with an amused face as Ibuki Kouji sneezes again.

"A stalker? That is a weird way to thank the person who left the deck you know?" Kamui says as Ryuga just narrow his eyes in response."Anyways,let's take your deck for a spin!"

"Wait a moment! You still didn't register me as a fighter yet" Ryuga says a bit desperatly as Kamui apologizes and finishes inputing the data.

"Here you have it, from now on you are a cardfighter officially recognized by the Vanguard Association and this FICA proofs it." Kamui states as he hands him a FICA that has data on Ryuga alongside his current grade which is still 0,so he need to do quests in order to increase his current rank.

"Right now you are a grade 0,but as you do quests by going to that spot and place your FICA on it,you can accept one that is most suitable for you,but I would recommend you to do an easy one since you just started,and for that let me make one for you right now." Kamui explains to Ryuga the system that most people here already knows." I just posted your very first quest,it should help you getting started right away." Kamui just gave a quest to have a cardfight with him.

* * *

 **Quest- A new clan? I must fight against it!**

 **Sender- Katsuragi Kamui.**

 **Clan: Nova Grappler**

 **Reward: 1000 Points**

 **Accept  
**  
 **Cancel**

* * *

"That is a lot of points Katsuragi-san." I say this as I am surprised that this is the first quest that I get,unlike the silly one that Chrono originaly got that involved Trinity Dragon and wouldn't something like this be worthy a lot less in terms of points? Which means I already changed history and a lot,hope that the number of bad guys doesn't go up.

"Just call me Kamui, Ryuga. You know that by fighting someone as strong as me you will be halfway to grade 1 after you complete the quest."

Kamui tells me as he prefers to be called by his name without any honorifics.

"Alright Kamui-san,I will call you that,but retain the honorific just for now." I told him that as he just goes to the fighting table after grabbing a trial deck from the counter after I clicked Accept as my FICA registred the quest.

"Now Ryuga,I will expla-" I interrupted him quickly as I say, "Kamui-san,I already know the rules of this game,so let's get into the good part." I said as I was excited to take on someone better.

"In that case show me what you and the new clan can do!" Kamui yells excited as another crowd gathered around us as they heard of a new clan.

"Damn Kamui,you can be loud sometimes" I think as I redo a draw of 4 cards. Kamui does the same then we shout.

"Stand up Owari no Vanguard!"

"Stand up,vanguard!"

"Oh? You already came up with your personal standing up? " Kamui asks me surprised."At least it isn't "The" " he mumbles when saying this as he thinks of Kai Toshiki.

"Naturally." That was my reply.

"Tick-tock Dracokid (G0/PW 5000/SD 10000)" I declare the name of my starting Vanguard.

"Extreme Battler, Hajimal( G0/PW 4000/SD 10000) Kamui does the same.

"Alright I will go first if you don't mind." Kamui says as I nooded my head in response.

Turn 1 Katsuragi Kamui Damage: [] Hand:5

"Draw! The great Kamui rides Mecha Battler Kendall( G1/PW 8000/SD 10000)! I move Hamijal to a RG to the left in the backrow". The starter transformed into another robot as it's soul left it's new form and went to the mentioned direction of the battlefield.

"Turn End" Kamui finishes his turn.

Turn 2 Shindou Ryuga Damage: [] Hand 5

"Draw! Ride! Masergear Dragon (G1/PW 8000/SD 5000)!"

"I move Tick-Tock behind Masergear and with a boost I attack your Vanguard (PW 13000)." Tick-Tock appears behind my Masergear as the clocks in it's wings starter to turn backwards as it gave energy to my vanguard as he shoots a pink beam from it's shoulder.

"No guard." Kamui doesn't defend this attack.

"Drive Check (Chronojet Dragon) (G3/PW 11000/SD 0)!" I reveal my Avatar unit and add it to my beam hits Kendall as it creates a small explosion.

"Damage Check.[Aura Baller](G1/PW 7000/SD 5000)"Kamui puts the revealed card in the damage zone.

"Turn End." I declare the end of my turn.

Ryuga's POV

The fight went on until I defeated Kamui with Ragnaclock Dragon.

Kamui congratulates me for winning the fight,shakes my hand and signs my FICA as I got the points needed to be halfway to grade 1,with that I say goodbye to Kamui and head home wondering how interesting thigs will be from now on while passing by Sendou Aichi.

* * *

 **Cards:**

 **Tick-Tock Dracokid**

 **Grade 0**

 **Clan: Gear Chronicle**

 **Race: Gear Dragon**

 **Power 5000**

 **Shield 10000**

 **Effect:(Auto)Forerunner.**

 **(Auto) [RC]: CB1[Put this unit into your Soul]:When an attack hits when this unit boosted you may pay the you do, choose up to one of your opponent's grade 1 or lower rear-guards,and put it on the bottom of the Deck,if you do,draw 1 your opponent's Unit was placed in the bottom of the deck by the effect of your card during this turn,you do not require to pay the CB when activating this unit's skill.**

 **Engineer Gear, Cellius**

 **Clan: Gear Chronicle**

 **Race: Gearroid**

 **Grade 1**

 **PW 7000**

 **SD 5000**

 **Effect: (Auto) [RC]: When this attacks,it gains 3000 PW until the end of that battle.**

 **Steam Striker,Workin**

 **Clan: Gear Chronicle**

 **Race: Gearroid**

 **Grade 1**

 **PW 7000**

 **SD 5000**

 **Effect: (Auto) [RC] GB1: During your turn this unit gains 4000 PW if your Vanguard is a Gear Dragon (Hearts included).**

 **Rising Seeker, Mardux**

 **Grade 1**

 **Clan: Royal Paladin**

 **Power 7000**

 **Shield 5000**

 **Skill: (ACT) [RC[Rest this unit: Discard 1 "Seeker" card,if you do,draw 1 card.**

* * *

 **I must end this with a QOTC.**

 **QOTC- Do you want me to keep writting the details of the fights,even meaningless ones or not?(I just happened to skip the rest of the second one this time)**


	3. Turn 2 - A certain rich boy

**hnh058513: I do not intend to sever the link between Earth and Cray.**

 **Now that I replied to the review,let's go to the chapter.**

* * *

 **Turn 2 : A certain rich kid.**

* * *

(Next Day)

Next day after Ryuga's cardfight with Kamui he was currently in the school yard doing some push ups on the wall as he was thinking about adding some Cray Elemental cards to the G-Zone since right now he don't have any other ways to improve his deck,when all of a sudden he heard a loud sound and turned his head around a bit to see Kiba Shion blocking a ball that was going in the direction of one of his fangirls.

"Hey,who did that?!" The girl that was almost hit yells as she turned her head in Ryuga's direction as he kept doing his push ups while he looking at them with a curious expression on his face.

"S-Shindou Ryuga..." "Shindou did it?" The other girls around Shion started to acuse Ryuga of doing that as Shion was looking at him while Tokoha interrupted her badminton game and turned her head around to see what was going on.

Ryuga knew that there was no point in trying to defend himself since they already decided to pin him as the cumplit after all.

"It had to be Shindou." They continued to acuse him as he continued to ignore them and keep exercising.

"It's ok. No problem." Shion starts to undo the misunderstanding that those girls caused in the first place. They apologised,but Ryuga wasn't having any of thoose false excuses and turned his head back to the wall and kept doing the push ups as the girls that acused him just left shortly afterwards confirming his thoughts to be right.

"Hipocrytes" Ryuga mumbled as Shion started to aproach him.

"I'm sorry about that,it wasn't supposed to happen." Shion apologizes to Ryuga as he stops doing his push ups.

"Why are you apologizing in the first place? It's not like you did anything wrong you know?" Ryuga states as he knew that Shion felt bad for what happened just now.

"You know what I am talking about only you got falsely acused of something that you didn't do but also the girls were not being sincere at all when they apologized to you." Shion explains to me what was obvious to anyone that witnessed this scene.

"Don't worry about it." Ryuga just decided to leave when Tokoha just decided to say something.

"You should try to act a little friendlier." Tokoha tries to advice him of how to act around other people,but Ryuga stopped and decided to explain her why he acted like that just now.

"What was the point of being nice to them if they never meant to apologize to me in the first place?" Ryuga answered back to Tokoha as he continued, "They just did so in order to save face in front of Kiba,so it was a farse from the start and I don't like to deal with people like that."

She quickly saw his point and just said."I know that you can actually be really nice like yesterday,you know?" Ryuga didn't expect those words coming from Tokoha at all considering his reputation around here.

"What do you mean by that?" He asked confused at her sudden consideration for him as he believed that she would never bother to speak to someone like him.

"You did help that kid yesterday,when I thought that you would ignore his problem and leave as it had nothing to do with you Shindou,but I never expected you to cardfight so well as the first time you did so,did you lied about that?" Tokoha ask Ryuga while being a bit mad about the fact that he told her a half-truth.

"That was actually my first fight Anjou, it have seen other people doing it before and I just did as they did but with my own image in mind."He answered to her.

"What? You just learned to fight just by watching other cardfighters doing it so? That is a bit unusual Shindou,normally a cardfighter learns from another person while doing the fight and what I saw in the way that you fought,you were on a whole different level then a beginner."Tokoha states the normal facts as she is slightly impressed by his current cardfighting ability.

"Really Anjou, you know that if you actually try to image,there is a slight chance of becoming stronger not only as a fighter,but also as a person." Ryuga said this as Tokoha is surprised that even though he just (from her point of view) started to play vanguard,he already knew one of the most important aspects of the game without anyone telling me that.

"Shindou do you want to fight me after the classes are over ?" Tokoha asks me as she wants to take me on a cardfight but I already have others things to do today.

"Sure,but not today. I already promissed Kamui-san that I would start to do a few quests,so we can do that at another time ok?" I politely declined her challenge as I had other things to do at the moment.

"You better fight me next time that I challenge you ok?" The green haired girl asks me something that will happen sooner or later.

"Ok Anjou,see you at class." I just went ahead after saying goodbye to Tokoha.

"He is a better person than the rumors and attitude describe him as. Was I wrong about him all along?" Tokoha ponders as Ryuga goe back to the building.

* * *

(Card Capital 2)

"You beated me again!? Even when I was going all out on you?!" Kamui complains to me as I beated him again and what made matters worse is that I beated him so easily this time for his dissapointment.

"Kamui-san wasn't I supposed to go on a quest?" I ask to him as he is still on the ground complaining like a child.

"Yes,yes, Ryuga are you sure you are ready for another quest?" I just ignore that comment as I am currently checking the quests on the board,until one interested me.

* * *

 **Quest: Card left behind - I forgot a card at my grandma's house. That card is important to me,send it to my house in Hokkaido.**

 **Sender- Oikawa Kouhei**

 **Clan: Narukami**

 **Reward:150 points**

 **Accept  
**  
 **Cancel**

* * *

I quickly checked the keypad as a video of the same person described the card he needed,the adress of his grandma's house alongside the adress of where the card should be sent to.

"Perfect,it is a easy one and it's worthy a few points so count me in." I place my FICA on the keyboard and press Accept on the board,then I leave for his grandma's house.

"Ryuga wait, I will go with you!" Kamui yells as I stopped him.

"Aren't you going to get into trouble if you skip your work like that?" I said to him pointing at the counter in order to make my point that Kamui swallows as he already did something like that and got into trouble as a result."Don't worry Kamui-san I am going to be fine,after all how hard could it be ?" I tell to him sarcasticly while leaving the shop.

"I hope your right Ryuga." Kamui finishes as he goes back to the counter without even knowing that he just dodged a bullet as Shin was watching everything behind a door near the entrance of the shop.

"So that is your son,Rive." Nitta Shin whispered to no one.

* * *

(Kouhei grandma's House)

Here am I trying to explain the situation to an old lady who seems to ignore every SINGLE word of what I just said.

"What was that boy? I couldn't hear you." The old lady says to me in mocking tone.

"As I stated earlier, I have accepted a request that your grandson as made that requires me to get a card that he forgot at your house."I explained her the situation once again in a calm tone and face.

"As if I am letting a stranger entering this house like that! No don't make such a scary face on me,now I don't trust you!."The old lady just yells while being obvious that she has no intention of letting me in. I have no choice,after all, points doesn't fall out of the sky right?

"Anyways, is there anything I can do in order for you to get the card for me?" I ask as politely as I can.

"Now that you mention it..." The hag starts to take advantage of the situation like I expected her to.

"Fetch my drying laundry on the roof!" She wastes no time in demanding what she wants.

"Get the letters from the mailbox!" I hope this doesn't take too long.

"Massage my back and do it properly!" What's next?

"Make me some green tea and it must be good!" Another of her demands.

"Damn,she knows that I am telling her the truth,but it is for a fact that she doesn't intent to give it to me and not letting me in supports that." I think sourly of this old woman as her eyes are obviously mocking me while she drinks green tea as I keep removing the weeds out of her garden.

"Next, check what is wrong with the..." An hour past as I kept doing this meaningless chores(believe me guys,you are better off not knowing a few of the stuff that I had to do and leave it at that) as I just returned from shopping just to see Kiba Shion sitting in a pillow inside the house WITH THE CARD RIGHT NEXT TO HIM on a table as the old hag is starring at him dreamly.

"Thank you for the treat." Shion thanks her as she realizes something.

"Of couse some coffee would go better with that cake dear. Oh your back Errand boy, go and fecth us some coffee!" The old lady has the nerve of giving me an order in such a rude way after breaking her word,but instead of doing it so like in my previous tasks, I wasn't having it.

"That's it! I am out of here! And for your information, I am no errand boy and never was! I have met a lot of rude people,but never one like you and I can assure of that!" I started to put my shoes as I went to leave this pointless quest that was a lost case from the start.

"Here take it." Shion says to me as he tries to give me the card that I was working hard to get.

"No card isn't worthy of everything I went through in order to try to get it and as a result another person got it without having to do anything at all." I said a bit sourly.

"But as you stated just now, you worked a lot in order to get it,and hard work shouldn't go unrewarded." Shion says as it is is duty to help a person who just started to cardfight and hunt points in quests.

"Hard work doesn't go rewarded in most situations Kiba, this scenario proofs it and you already have the card,so it won't change anything except the fact that you are telling me that I can't do anything on my own and need your help in order to get something I need." I answer back as I made myself clear.

At that Shion sighed then,"I tried to be nice but if you aren't going to accept it in the easy way,then how about we settle this on a cardfight?" he challenges me to a cardfight with the Dungeree at stake.

"Shion, what is even the point of fighting if you already have the prize in your hand? You have nothing to gain from this as I have no interested in taking you on." I point out to him as he decided to taunt me.

"Afraid of loosing? I thought that a cardfighter like you would have taken the chance to do so." Shion seemed surprised for the fact that I just refused his challenge when many people would accept it without any hesitation.

"Normally I would,but it is pointless and counterproductive for both parts as I mentioned earlier,so see you later." I left the hag's house as giving up the quest.

"Interesting,I never met someone like him before." Shion states as he saw Ryuga leaving.

(Card Capital 2)

"Did you just gave up the quest?!" Kamui yells at me while he was laughting at the stuff that I did for that hag just for be unrewarded.

"It was utterly pointless,when I saw Kiba there the quest was good as over." I explained him what happened in that hag's house.

"Why didn't you accept the card when he offered it to you?" Kamui asks me as it would make sense that someone else would accept it.

"Because that would make me look inferior to him no matter how it would go down since he already had the prize in hand, and accepting it would mean that he would have the high ground."

"By the way Kamui-san,could you place an order on one copy of "Miracle Element, Atmos"?" I ask the part-timer the order I wanted to place as he seems to understand that I wanted to update my deck seeing that Cray Elementals could be used in any kind of decks.

"Sure, here you have it." Kamui handed me the card as I paid the money for it and left to go home.

(Next day)

I was playing soccer during gym class in the goalkeeper position as the game was tied 0-0 and we had 5 minutes left until it was ball was passed to Shion as he quickly dodged all atemps of a steal and reach my area. He and I took a quick glance at each other as we grinned and Shion shot the ball to the left side of the goal with a powerfull kick,but I reacted instantly and went to the direction that the ball went. As a result, I successfully caught Shion's shoot and the game ended as a draw.

When I went to my shoe locker there was a letter,I opened it up and read it's contents.

* * *

 **Shindou Ryuga if you wish to take on a strong opponent,meet me in Card Capital 2 this afternoon,I will be waiting.**

* * *

"A challenge letter?" I pondered as the only people from school that could have challenge me for a cardfight are either Tokoha or Shion,but it is most likely the later since I refused to cardfight him yesterday,but I better check it out in case that I am wrong.

(Card Capital 2)

"As I thought, it really was you,Kiba." I stated the obvious after seing Kiba Shion at Card Capital 2's counter in front of Kamui as it looked like he was waiting for me to come.

"Since you refused my challenge yesterday and caugh the ball during the soccer game the outcome wasn't what I wished for and for that I want to take you on and win properly Shindou,so fight me!" Shion finishes his statement as he challenges me for a cardfight.

'Something tells me that if I don't accept,this competitive streak of his will never end. I might as well surrender and accept it.' I decided to end this and go straight to the battlefield.

"Fine. I will accept,if I win, you will stop bothering me for a cardfight for a while ok?" I made my terms clear to Shion as I went to the fighters table and placed my FICA in it.

"But Ryuga,Shion is really strong unlike most fighters in this store so be carefull." Kamui warns me.

"Like you were in our fight earlier,Kamui-san?" I tease him by reminding him of his previous defeat at my hands when I didn't even need to Stride.

"That was dumb luck Ryuga! If I had pulled a Heal trigger you would have lost and you know it!" Kamui tells me with a red face.

"Yeah,keep telling that to yourself Kamui-san." I watched as smoke was coming out of his ears.

Shion ask Ryuga which field he prefers and as a response he was given the heads up for him to choose where he wanted to fight. A crowd quickly gathered around us as we saw that grandma over there as well rooting for Shion as he and I have an unreadeble expressions on our faces that are saying "Seriously? How did she found out?".

"Let's get this started Shindou!" Shion declares the start of this fight.

"Same here!" I replied back.

"Stand up! Owari No Vanguard!" (Ryuga's Stand UP)

"Stand up! Vanguard!"(Shion's Stand UP)

"Tick-tock Dracokid (G0/PW 5000)" Ryuga states the name of the starting Vanguard as his astral image turns into the creature itself.

"Shining Knight,Millius (G0/ PW 5000)" Shion declares the name of his starting vanguard as he turns himself into a smaller knight.

 _ **Turn 1 - Kiba Shion**_

"Draw! Ride! Lunar Crescent Knight,Felax (G1/PW 8000)! I move Millius to a RC behind my vanguard." Felax takes Millius place as the later shows itself behind it.

"Turn End." Shion finishes his turn.

* * *

 **Shindou Ryuua's Board - (Tick-Tock Dracokid - VC )**

 **Damage [] [] [] [] [] [] Hand:5**

 **Kiba Shion's Board- (Lunar Crescent Knight,Felax - VC ),(Shining Knight,Millius - RC behind VC)**

 **Damage [] [] [] [] [] [] Hand:5**

* * *

 _ **Turn 2 - Shindou Ryuga**_

"Draw! Ride! Masergear Dragon (G1/PW 8000)! I move Tick-Tock to a RC behind it as well and I will call another Masergear to the right column!" Tick-Tock moves behind as two Masergear Dragons appears in front of it.

"The Masergear from the right will attack first (PW 8000)." I declare the first attack as Masergear fires the laser from it's chest forwards Felax.

"No guard,damage check (none) [Rainbow Guardian (G1/PW 6000/ Sentinel)]". Felax takes the hit as it is dragged to the ground.

"Next with a boost from Tick-Tock,Masergear aims at your vanguard (PW 13000)." Masergear fired his attack straight to the fallen knight.

"No guard" Kiba doesn't guard.

"Drive check! Get Critical trigger(Steam Battler, Dadasig),I will give all the effects to my vanguard (PW 18000 Crit 2)" The laser hits Felax as it hovers in the sky as it falls back again in pain.

"Damage Check,(none)[Knight of Twin Sword (G2/PW 9000)],second check,(none)[Aurashooter Dragon (G3/PW10000)]"

"Turn end." I declare the end of my turn.

* * *

 **Shindou Ryuga's Board - (Masergear Dragon - VC),(Masergear Dragon -RC to the Right in the Front row),(Tick-Tock Dracokid - RC behind VC)**

 **Damage [] [] [] [] [] [] Hand:5**

 **Kiba Shion's Board- (Lunar Crescent Knight,Felax - VC),(Shining Knight,Millius - RC behind VC)**

 **Damage [Rainbow Guardian] [Knight of Twin Sword] [Aurashooter Dragon] [] [] [] Hand:5**

* * *

"Errand Boy,stop bullying Shion-chan and loose already!" The hag insults me as gave her a killing glare to show her how pissed off I was by her statment just now as she backs off in fear of what I might do.

"Interrupt us again like that and I will show you who is a 'Errand Boy' around here." I said to her as she just decided to shut up and continue to cheer for Kiba.

"Shindou, there is no need to be violent" Kiba says as he tries to defute this situation.

"She was asking for it,now we won't be interrupted like that again." I replied to him as we decided to get back to business.

 _ **Turn 3 - Kiba Shion**_

"Draw! Ride! Knight of Twin Sword (G2/PW 9000)! Calling one Felax to the right (PW 8000) and one Absolute Blade Knight, Livarot to the left (G2/PW 10000)!" The Felax that was in lead shines as it becomes Twin Sword and his previous form appears along side him with another reinforcedment,this being Livarot.

"Felax will attack your vanguard (PW 8000)." Felax aims his rapier at my vanguard.

"No guard,damage check,(none)[Engineer Gear,Cellius (G1/PW 7000)]" My vanguard gets stabbed by Felax's rapier.

"Livarot will aim for your vanguard as well (PW 10000)." Livarot shoots his lightsabers at my vanguard.

"Guard! Steam Battler, Dadasig (SD 18000)!" Dadasig appears in front of Masergear and punches the lightsabers that returns to it's owner.

"With a boost from Millius,Knight of Twin Sword attacks your vanguard (PW 14000)!"

"No guard." I declare.

"Drive check,Get Heal Trigger (Healing Pegasus (G0/PW 5000)! I heal 1 point of damage and give the power to my vanguard (PW 19000)" Twin Sword's attack striked Masergear as it let out a groan in pain.

"Damage Check,(none)[Smokegear Dragon(G2/PW10000)]."

"Turn End." Shion declares the end of his turn.

* * *

 **Shindou Ryuga's Board - (Masergear Dragon - VC),(Masergear Dragon -RC to the Right in the Front row),(Tick-Tock Dracokid - RC behind VC)**

 **Damage [Engineer Gear,Cellius] [Smokegear Dragon] [] [] [] [] Hand:4**

 **Kiba Shion's Board- (Knight of Twin Sword - VC),(Shining Knight,Millius - RC behind VG),Lunar Crescent Knight,Felax - RC to the Right in the front row),(Absolute Blade Knight, Livarot - RC to the Left in the Front row)**

 **Damage [Rainbow Guardian] [Knight of Twin Sword] [] [] [] [] Hand:4**

* * *

 _ **Turn 4 - Shindou Ryuga**_

"Stand and Draw! Ride! Steam Fighter, Amber (G2/PW 9000)!" Masergear turns into Amber.

"I will also move the Masergear RG to the back and call Relic Master Dragon (G2/PW 9000)" Masergear steps back as Relic Master appears shortly afterwards.

"With it's skill I will send Livarot to the bottom of your Deck." Relic Master shoots a laser from his mouth and after it hits Livarot, the knight vanishes.

"Boosted by Masergear, Relic Master attacks Felax (PW 17000)!" Relic Master shoots another laser at Felax and takes it out.

"Boosted by Tick-Tock, Amber attacks your vanguard (PW 14000)!"

"No guard." Shion declares.

"Drive Check,(Relic Master Dragon)". Amber hits Twin Sword with it's weapon.

"Damage Check,(none)[Mithrilguard Lion(G2/PW 8000)].Shion places the card into his damage zone.

"Tick-Tock skill activate! When the attack that this unit booster hits,by paying 1 counterblast,I can send 1 of your RG to the bottom of your Deck then draw 1 since I already returned a unit to the bottom of your deck by another effect this turn,I don't need to pay a counterblast." Tick-Tock opens it's mouth and sucks Millius into it and swallows the smaller knight.

"Turn End" I finish my turn once again.

* * *

 **Ryuga's Board - (Steam Fighter, Amber - VC ),(Relic Master Dragon -RC to the Right in the Front row),Masergear Dragon - RC to the Right in the Back row)**

 **Damage [Engineer Gear,Cellius](Face-down) [Smokegear Dragon](Face-down) [] [] [] [] Hand:5**

 **Shion's Board- (Knight of Twin Sword - VC)**

 **Damage [Rainbow Guardian] [Knight of Twin Sword] [Mithrilguard Lion] [] [] [] Hand:4**

* * *

 _ **Turn 5 - Kiba Shion**_

'So this is what Gear Chronicle is capable off.' Shion thinks as he starts to consider his options.

"You are not bad, you are better than what I gave you credit for Shindou,but the real fight begins now." Shion praises Ryuga as he starts to get serious.

"Stand and Draw! 'It's here.' Shion had a look that he had when he drew Altmile and the crowd except for the old lady knew what was comming.

'What will you do Ryuga?' Kamui thinks.

"Ride! Blue Sky Knight, Altmile (G3/PW 11000)!" Twin sword turns into Shion's avatar, Altmile as he aims his sword at Amber.

"So this is your Avatar unit huh? " Ryuga states pretending to not know how that unit fights and what it can do.

"Let me show you what it can do from a closer distance that is." Shion states.

"Call! Mithrilguard Lion(G2/PW 8000) and Knight of Shield Bash (G1/PW 7000) behind it!" A lion and knight with twin shields apeared to the left of Altmile as they bowed to him.

"With a boost from Shield Bash, Mithrilguard attacks your vanguard (PW 15000)!"Mithrilguard and Shield Bash rushed straight to Amber.

"No guard." I declared as the duo's attacks landed on Amber.

"Damage check,Get Heal trigger[Steam Maiden,Uluru(G0/PW 5000)]! Giving all effects to Relic Master (PW 14000)" I placed the card in the damage zone as Uluru gave strenght to Relic Master as he gained a green glow .

"Why did he gave the power to the RG?" One of our watchers asked Kamui.

"By doing that he ensured that Shion would focus on the vanguard instead of reducing Ryuga's attacker's." Kamui explained the reason of why the boost got to a RG instead of the VG.

'It's crazy, Ryuga has started playing yesterday and he already knows how to apply the boosts properly in situations like this.' Kamui thinks impressed by how fast a newbie has progressed in one day.

"I see, so that is your plan,but that won't stop me from winning. Altmile attacks your vanguard (PW 11000)! Sky Noble Thrust!" Altmile jumps as he heads forwards Ryuga's vanguard.

"No guard." Ryuga declares.

"Twin Drive. First Check,Get Critical trigger (Burning Mane Lion) (G0/PW 5000)! Giving the crittical to my vanguard (Crit 2) and give the power to Mithrilguard (PW 13000),second check, Get Stand trigger (Knight of Festival) (G0/PW 5000)! All effects to Mithrilguard!. Altmile's sword stabbed Amber as Mithrilguard stood up ready to deal another blow.

"Damage check,(none)[Withdrawn Gear Raven(G1/PW 6000/ Sentinel],second check,(none)[Withdrawn Gear Raven(G1/PW 6000/ Sentinel]

"Mithrilguard attacks your vanguard (PW 13000)! The lion goes to bite Amber.

"No guard. Damage check,(none)[Steam Fighter,Amber(G2/PW 9000)] " Ryuga places another copy of Amber's card in his damage zone as the one in the VG screams in pain after it was bitten by Mithrilguard Lion.

"Your move Shindou." Shion ends his turn.

* * *

 **Ryuga's Board - (Steam Fighter, Amber - VC ),(Relic Master Dragon -RC to the Right in the Front row),(Masergear Dragon - RC to the Right in the Back row)**

 **Damage [Engineer Gear,Cellius](Face-down) [Smokegear Dragon](Face-down) [Withdrawn Gear Raven] [Withdrawn Gear Raven] [Steam Fighter,Amber] [] Hand:5**

 **Shion's Board- (Blue Sky Knight, Altmile - VC),(Mithrilguard Lion - RC to the Left in the Front row) ,(Knight of Shield Bash - RC to the Left int the Back row)**

 **Damage [Rainbow Guardian] [Knight of Twin Sword] [Mithrilguard Lion] [] [] [] Hand:4**

* * *

 _ **Turn 6 Shindou Ryuga**_

"Stand and Draw!" 'Couldn't have come at a better time old friend.' Ryuga makes a pleased face as he drew Chronojet Dragon.

"So,you drew your Avatar as well?" Shion asks as he already knew the feeling and the answer.

"That attack wasn't half bad,but Altmile is no match for Chronojet." Ryuga says as he tells his Avatar is better than Shion's.

"Bring me the Future that I seek to create my other self! Ride! Chronojet Dragon (G3/PW 11000)" Amber's pain ceases as he turns into Chronojet Dragon.

"Generation Zone...release!" Ryuga discards 1 Steam Fighter,Amber and 1 Masergear Dragon from his hand as the cards had a rainbow glow as the Generation Zone was released.

"Come from the future and bring me a new tomorrow! Stride! Ragnaclock Dragon(G4/PW 26000)! Chronojet transforms into Ragnaclock.

"Stride Skill! Counterblast 1, I send Mithrilguard Lion to the bottom of your Deck!" A portal opens behind the said Lion as he was sucked into it as Shion placed the card into the bottom of his Deck.

"Next I will call 2 Steam Striker,Workin(G1/PW 7000) to the Left column!" Two more units are called to the field.

"During my turn,they both get 4000 power with their skill (PW 11000)." The striker's become pumped up with energy.

"Boosted by Workin, the other one attacks your Vanguard (PW 22000)!" The workers goes straight to Altmile.

"No guard. Damage check,Get draw trigger [Margal(G0/PW 4000)]! Giving the power to my vanguard and I draw." Shion draws his card ad the attack hurts Altmile.

"Ragnaclock Dragon attacks your vanguard (PW 26000) ! Skill activate! By paying 1 counterblast and flipping one copy from the G-Zone face-up you can't normal call grade 0 cards from your hand to the GC!" I stated as Shion saw that he was in trouble now.

'It's no use I don't have enough shield for this attack.' Shion thinks as he checks his hand to see 3 triggers with SD 10000 and two grade 2 cards with SD 5000.

"No guard." Shion declares as Ragnaclock fires his laser when a circle that had a 0 crossed out apperared bellow Altmile as it prevented grade 0's from being called to protect him.

"Triple Drive! First check,(none) (Chronojet Dragon).Second check,(none)(Smokegear Dragon). Third check,Get critical trigger (Steam Battler,Dadasig) (G0/PW 5000)! Giving the critical to Ragnaclock (Crit 2) and the power to Relic Master (PW 14000).

"Damage check,(none)[Lunar Crescent Knight,Felax],second check,(none)[Blue Sky Knight,Altmile]. I loose." Shion admits his defeat after placing the sixth card in the damage zone.

* * *

 _ **Ryuga's Board - (Ragnaclock Dragon - VG),(Relic Master Dragon - RC to the Right in the Front row),(Masergear Dragon - RC to the Right in the Back row),(Steam Striker,Workin - RC to the Left in the Front row),(Steam Striker,Workin - RC to the Left in the Back row)**_

 _ **Damage [Engineer Gear,Cellius](Face-down) [Smokegear Dragon](Face-down) [Withdrawn Gear Raven](Face-down) [Withdrawn Gear Raven](Face-down) [Steam Fighter,Amber] [] Hand:4**_

 _ **Shion's Board- (Blue Sky Knight, Altmile - VC),(Knight of Shield Bash - RC to the Left int the Back row)**_

 _ **Damage [Rainbow Guardian] [Knight of Twin Sword] [Mithrilguard Lion] [Margal] [Lunar Crescent Knight,Felax] [Blue Sky Knight,Altmile] Hand:5**_

* * *

"Not bad Kiba." I said.

"Same here Shindou." Shion replies as we stare at each other with sparks in our eyes that are clashing,but he gave me an envelope.

"What's this?" I asked to him.

"It is the card from yesterday's quest." Shion says.

"But-" Shion interrupts me.

"No but's. This time I want you to get the card as a proof of your win and don't be so stubborn about it." He finished his statement.

"Fine. In that case see you at school tomorrow Kiba and thanks." I left the store with the card from the quest and my new rival as I went to the mail in order to deliver it to the kid that requested it in the first place.

* * *

 **Chapter 3 preview:**

 **Turn 3 - Ibuki kouji and Anjou Tokoha.**

 **After a few days of starting his journey to become a better cardfighter, Ibuki Kouji decides to test Ryuga in order to teach him a lesson,however will it go as he planned?  
Shortly after his bout with Hibuki. Ryuga has decided to do a relaxing quest as he gets an easy opponent to take on.**

 **"It has been a few days hasn't it stalker-san?"**

 **"What's wrong? It isn't going like you planned right?"**

 **"Two people can play that game as well, stalker-kun."  
**

* * *

 **QOTC: Do you want me to give you this small previews of the next chapter from now on?**

 **Please don't forget to review as I may answer a few question on them,but not all,of course.**


	4. Turn 3 - Ibuki Kouji and Anjou Tokoha

**Turn 3 : Ibuki Kouji and Anjou Tokoha.**

* * *

It has been one week since I have re-started to play vanguard in this world as I kept doing quests until I finally had almost enought points to grade up to 1 and I was feeling pretty excited about it has. The Trinity Dragon has been bothersome in their atemps to compete against me in a few quests as they just had the worst timing while I managed to obtain the items of those same requests. I narrowed my eyes as the Trinity was once again trying to get the better of me by trying a not so clever idea in order to take a dangerous looking dog out of the house as he is guarding the item that was requested.

"Are you sure this is going to work? I think this is a bad idea." I said to Tsuneto as he is about to throw a bone at the dog.

"There is no need to worry Shindou, everything is going as planned." Karl reasured me that there would be no problem. However I decided to hide away from them as it was no brainer of what was going to happen next and as expected the dog was mad at them for hitting his head with the bone leaving the card for the taking as he chased them and I took it as the mut kept following them,but instead of helping them I just decided to deliver it to the person who did the request and hope for a miracle on their part.

(Card Capital 2)

"One more quest should put me to grade 1, so time to fetch the grade!" I said excited as the quests popped up and went to see if a certain stalker-san has decided to set a bait for me.

* * *

 **Quest- Please fight me. I want to try out a new deck,so please fight me.**

 **Sender - Nakadai Mikoto**

 **Clan-Kagero**

 **Reward- 100 points**

 **Accept  
**  
 **Cancel**

* * *

'Here it is.' I thought as I see the quest where Ibuki shows his face for the first time,but I wonder how he bribed the Kid that was supposed to be there in the first place, otherwise it wouldn't make any sense that he showed up as his representetive. But there is no point thinking of that since I know that he stalks me around and most likely uses his position within the association in order to spy on my quests.

"Well, better accept this one and go with the flow." I said as I pressed Accept and went on my way to the Vanguard Colosseum.

(Vanguard Colosseum)

I enter a large building where a lot people are waiting to use _**GIRS**_ and went to the Vangarou statue where the meeting spot is.

"According to the map, the meeting spot should be here by the Vangarou statue." I pretended to be confused as there might be a chance that the security cameras catch me saying something that I shouldn't, and a half-hour later Ibuki Kouji arrives as the so called replacement.

"Are you Shindou Ryuga-kun?" Ibuki asks me pretending to not know who I was and the fact that he stalks me.

"Yes that is me,why do you ask?" I asked feigning ignorance.

"You see,Nakadai-kun,the person who gave you that quest couldn't make it and he borrowed me the deck so I could test it for him." Ibuki explained the 'situation' as he showed me a deck,"Do you want to fight as it would be a shame after waiting for a while just for the person to not show up."

"Why not,after coming this far,better than doing nothing,so how are we going to do this? Place our FICAS in table mode?" I asked to him knowing the answer.

"No we will use GIRS. Follow me" Ibuki tells me to follow him as we went through the waiting line in front of us,he showed his FICA to the person responsible for the line and allowed us to go in and we enter the elevator.

"You seem to be a big shot around here otherwise we wouldn't have passed that huge line." I mentioned as we were in the elevator heading to a GIRS fight arena.

"So who are you exactly?" I asked Ibuki and by his reaction it was obvious that he wasn't going to answer to me.

We arrived at our destination,it was a white room with two black rectangular pillars and he simply headed to the other side.

"Place your Deck in here." Ibuki tells me to place my deck in the rectangle as he places his,"It reads the data on the deck,so you can use it during the fight."

I placed my deck as it went to the machine and the white room became a forest scenario as it changed to a vulcan,iceberg as Ibuki kept moving the screen in front of him to the side.

"Is there a specific place where you want to fight?" Ibuki asked me if there was a place where I would like to battle.

"No,feel free to choose." That was my reply.

"In that case,let's go with this one." Ibuki changed the scenario to an ancient maian temple.

"This feeling,it is almost as I am in the place itself." I couldn't help myself to this new experience,stalker plot or not.

"It seems that you liked my choice,you will understand the true value of GIRS once the fight begins." At that a virtual table appeared in front of me and a virtual copy of my deck appeared in the Main Deck Zone of the table as eight virtual cards showed up in the Generation Zone.

'I see,this system covers the number of cards in a players G-Zone so that no one can find out how many cards we have there exatly." I think to myself since I only have 4 cards in my G-zone in reality.

Then I moved my hand to the top of my Deck without touching the top card and it flew up almost touching my hand and it followed the same movements that I did.

'Amazing. So this is how it works huh?' I placed the card in the (VC) facedown and with a swing motion five cards went to my hand as they floated above it as Ibuki did the same.

"Are you ready?" He asked.

"Yup, all set to go." I told him.

"Stand Up! Owari No Vanguard!"

"Stand Up! The Vanguard!"

"Tick-Tock Dracokid" I declare the name of my starting vanguard as the unit appears in front of me.

"Perdition Dragon, Tinder Spear Dracokid" the red dragon appears in front of Ibuki.

"The unit has appeared in front of me for real? Is this some kind of hologram"? I asked to Ibuki as Tick-Tock just looks behind to see me and noods his head as a greeting.

"This is a Grand Image Real System also known as _**GIRS**_." Ibuki tells me the name of the system.

"I see,so this is what the people at the entrance were talking about." I commented about what I heard at the colosseum's entrance.

"This system creates a three-dimensional representation of the fighter's image. In short,this is what fighers normaly image when they are cardfighting against each other and this system makes it easier without the need to do so and it is very popular nowadays." Ibuki properly explains the real use of this system.

"Such details for the units and augmented reality to better show off a cardfighter's moves during a fight." I said,then a thought came to me,"How much did you people invest into this system?" I asked one of the top questions that a fan of this series would have.

"A person would never guessed that you were the rumored fighter with the Gear Chronicle deck." Ibuki states ignoring my question just now.

"Since when it was a rumor?" I asked him out of curiosity since I never figured it out how stuff like this got leaked outside.

"There's nothing to be surprised 's what happens when you use an unusual deck." Ibuki says as I was getting sick of his kind act.

"True, but it doesn't explain why everyone needs to be surprised about it." I told him as I theorized that this clan might get released to the public sooner or later.

"Out of all existing clans,why did you picked up Gear Chronicle since you just started recently?" Ibuki asks this as he pretended to not be the responsible for me having this deck.

"It was given to me by someone unknown." I told him the truth.

"You use it because it was given to you? Not because you choose to?" He kept asking pointless questions.

"I believe that it was fate that brought Gear Chronicle to me." I told him a half-truth.

"Fate. It makes sense." Ibuki says this last words as his mask comes off a bit.

 ** _Turn 1 - Ibuki Kouji_**

"Then show me...that fate! Ride! Perdition Dragon Knight,Gia! I move Tinder Spear to the back in the right column." I saw Tinder Spear turning into into a warrior carrying a trident in it's hand as Tinder appeared behind in the right seconds later.

"Your turn." He says.

* * *

 **Shindou Ryuga's Board - (Tick-Tock Dracokid - (VC) )**

 **Damage [] [] [] [] [] [] Hand:5 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone:**

 **Ibuki Kouji's Board- (Perdition Dragon Knight,Gia - (VC) ),(Perdition Dragon, Tinder Spear Dracokid - (RC) to the right in the back row)**

 **Damage [] [] [] [] [] [] Hand:5 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone:**

* * *

 ** _Turn 2 - Shindou Ryuga_**

"Ride! Masergear Dragon! I will move Tick-Tock to the back in the left column." Tick-Tock turned into Masergear as I was amazed by the sight in front of me.

'Being in the Anime and watching from the computer screen really ARE different things!' I thought as my units were getting ready to fight.

"Masergear attacks your Vanguard (PW 8000)!" Masergear fired his signature attack from the chest at Gia.

"No guard" Ibuki allows the attack to go through.

"Drive check,none[Chronojet Dragon(G3/ PW 11000)]" The card was revealed to both of us as it moved to my hand as the attack caused a small explosion that was realistic to both of us.

"Damage Check,none[Perdition Dancer,Anna (G1/PW 7000)]" The card that was revealed flew to the damage zone.

"Turn End" I declared the end of this turn as the smoke that was caused by the explosion vanished.

* * *

 **Shindou Ryuga's Board - (Masergear Dragon - (VC) ),(Tick-Tock Dracokid - (RC) to the left in the back row)**

 **Damage [] [] [] [] [] [] Hand:6 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone:**

 **Ibuki Kouji's Board- (Perdition Dragon Knight,Gia - (VC) ),(Perdition Dragon, Tinder Spear Dracokid - (RC) to the right in the back row)**

 **Damage [Perdition Dancer,Anna] [] [] [] [] [] Hand:5 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone:**

* * *

 _ **Turn 3 - Ibuki Kouji**_

"Ride! Perdition Berserker, Preta (G2/PW 9000)!" Gia is surrounded by 4 Kagero Clan symbols as they surround him in circles until it transformed into a golden-armored Dragonman.

"I will attack your vanguard (PW 9000)." Preta's charged while aiming it's claw at Masergear.

'I could take this one,but if I don't take risks,how will I succeed?' I made my decision to defend this one.

"Guard! Luckypot Dracokid (SD 13000)!" Luckypod appeared in front of me and Masergear preparing for the upcoming attack.

'An amateur move. The right choice here is to let the attack pass.' Ibuki thinks as the move that Ryuga made was reckless.

"Drive check,none [Protect Orb Dragon (G1/PW 6000/ Sentinel)]" Luckypot sucessfully bounced off Preta's claw.

"Turn end." Ibuki ended his turn.

'At first this may appear sloppy,but I must avoid take unnecessary damage. When he gives a easy one to guard,I defend since he can't cause real damage to my board until reaching LEGION or Stride.' I think as Ibuki won't drop his guard that easily.

* * *

 **Shindou Ryuga's Board - (Masergear Dragon - (VC) ),(Tick-Tock Dracokid - (RC) to the left in the back row)**

 **Damage [] [] [] [] [] [] Hand:5 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone:1xLuckypot Dracokid**

 **Ibuki Kouji's Board- (Perdition Dragon Knight,Gia - (VC) ),(Perdition Dragon, Tinder Spear Dracokid - (RC) to the right in the back row)**

 **Damage [Perdition Dancer,Anna] [] [] [] [] [] Hand:6 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone:**

* * *

 _ **Turn 4 - Shindou Ryuga**_

"Stand and Draw! Ride! Smokegear Dragon (G2/PW 10000)!" I threw Smokegear's card that flew into the board as Masergear exploded and when the smoke was gone, Smokegear stood in it's place.

"Even the visual effects of the ride can differ?! Amazing!" I once again admire the quality of the images offered by GIRS.

"In that case I will call another Smokegear to the right." The ground around us seemed to shake as another Smokegear landed to the right of the one who was leading.

"I will attack your vanguard with the Smokegear that I just called (PW 10000)." The newcomer decided to rush as fast as he came forwards the Dragonman.

"No guard. Damage check,none[Perdition Dragon, Vortex Dragonewt (G3/PW 11000)]" Ibuki allowed the attack to hit once again as Smokegear crashed into Preta.

'Dragonewt? This could be dangerous if he manages to ride that unit.' The gear dragon that just attacked Preta had decided to take a small nap.

'Too realistic.' I thought with a inner sigh as the dragon snored.

"Next I will go with my vanguard (PW 10000)!" The leading Smokegear fires a green laser from it's mouth as the fire went right next to the sleeping one.

"Guard! Perdition Cleric,Hakkai (SD 19000)!" A boarman punched Smokegear, sending him back near me as a small smoke of dust was made.

"Drive check,Get Stand trigger [Stomach Clock Gear Rabbit (G0/PW 5000)]! I will give all effects to the other Smokegear and stand it!" A mechanical rabbit appeared in front of the sleeping gear dragon and it made an annoying alarm clock sound that took me and Ibuki by surprise as the dragon woke up mad that his nap was interrupted.

'Right now stalker over there will not have a reason to guard this one,but if he gets either a draw or heal trigger in this check, he will be compensated,so I won't risk him getting lucky.' I made my decision.

"Turn end." I declared the end of turn without taking advantage of the standing smokegear that seemed to calm down.

'Another mistake.' Ibuki thought.

'Normally one would consider this a mistake and they are right. However if a heal or a draw were to get checked he would be a step ahead of me.' I justified my thought as I already had came across such scenarios before and it always turned good for my opponent's.

* * *

 **Shindou Ryuga's Board - (Smokegear Dragon - (VC) ),(Tick-Tock Dracokid - (RC) to the left in the back row),((Smokegear Dragon - (RC) to the right in the front row)**

 **Damage [] [] [] [] [] [] Hand:5 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone:1xLuckypot Dracokid**

 **Ibuki Kouji's Board- (Perdition Dragon Knight,Gia - (VC) ),(Perdition Dragon, Tinder Spear Dracokid - (RC) to the right in the back row)**

 **Damage [Perdition Dancer,Anna] [Perdition Dragon, Vortex Dragonewt] [] [] [] [] Hand:5 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone:1xPerdition Cleric,Hakkai**

* * *

 _ **Turn 5 - Ibuki Kouji**_

"Is that all?" Ibuki finally drops his mask " Listen well...You're never going to beat me the way you are now. Definetly no-" I smirked in response to his surprise and decided to interrupt him.

"About time you dropped your mask alongside that pathetic act.", I decided to show him who was actually in control here,"By the way,it has been a few days hasn't it Stalker-san?" I said surprising Ibuki and making him tick at the "Stalker" word.

"What? Did you really think that I was not aware of your false kindness that you were showing from the moment we met ? Not to mention the fact that you were following me a few weeks before I started my journey as a cardfighter?"I asked him off with a shrug .

"Althought, you suddenly stopped following me around when I got the Gear Chronicle deck,I wonder why?" Ibuki instinctively reacted at that.

"I don't know what you are talking about. From what I see,you are just trying to avoid the fact that you are a beginner and trying to distract me with small talk." Ibuki dodged my questions by using his so called 'advantage' to cover it up.

'Let's see who is really outmatched here shall we?' I thought privately as I was going to make him swallow every single arrogant word of what he just said.

"Let's leave it at that and speaking of how I knew that you were acting,let's say that it didn't match your true nature stalker-san." I continued my sermon at him.

"Ride! Perdition Dragon,Break Down Dragon (G3/PW 11000)!" The dragonman grew into a armored dragon that was carrying dual blasters in it's shoulders.

"Call! Two Perdition Dragon Knight, Tarayev (G2/PW 9000) and one Lava Flow Dragon (G1/PW 7000)" Two of the dragon's legion mate and a crimson dragon covered in lava appeared on Ibuki's side of the field.

"Let me show you... What a real attack is (PW 11000)!" Break Down fired his blasters at my vanguard,which it landed a sucessfull hit.

Trigger checks - [Perdition Dancer,Anna],[Perdition Dragon Knight,Gia]

Damage - [Steam Fighter,Amber (G2/PW 9000)]

'Lukewarm, he is not taking me seriously at all.' I thought.

"This is wh-" Ibuki atemps to scold me.

"at happens when you don't save guards for latter. Well I can't blame you for being a beginner. Did I get the script right Stalker-san?" I rudely interrupted him as I had made an imitation of his voice (did a bad job at it) with a mocking tone.

"How dare you mocking me brat!" Ibuki finally got mad at me for making a fool out of him.

"This is what happens when you are rude to another person,you damn stalker!" I call him out for his creepy habit of following me around and checking on my quests.

"Stop calling me that!" He yells at me while I was pretending to clean my ears,making him tick in anger.

"Tarayev's next (PW 14000)!" The Human to the dragon's right shot at Smokey while boosted by Tinder.

"Damage check,Get Draw trigger [Luckypot Dracokid (G0/PW 4000)] power VG and draw" I drew my card as the shot took a hit on my vanguard's left leg and made it kneel down to the ground as he did the same but with another booster which made the difference (PW 16000).

"Intercept (SD 20000)!." My other Smokegear covers his leader as it disapears afterwards. "Is that all you have,Stalker! Show me more!" I mocked him once again knowing that he couldn't do anything else this turn.

"Turn End." He recovers his composure while being mad at me from inside.

* * *

 **Shindou Ryuga's Board - (Smokegear Dragon - (VC) ),(Tick-Tock Dracokid - (RC) to the left in the back row)**

 **Damage [Steam Fighter,Amber] [Luckypot Dracokid ] [] [] [] [] Hand:6 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone:1xLuckypot Dracokid,1xSmokegear Dragon**

 **Ibuki Kouji's Board- (Perdition Dragon,Break Down Dragon - (VC) ),(Perdition Dragon, Tinder Spear Dracokid - (RC) to the right in the back row),(Perdition Dragon Knight, Tarayev -(RC) to the right in the front row),(Perdition Dragon Knight, Tarayev - (RC) to the left of the front row),(Lava Flow Dragon -(RC) to the left in the back row)**

 **Damage [Perdition Dancer,Anna] [Perdition Dragon, Vortex Dragonewt] [] [] [] [] Hand:5** **GB:0**

 **Drop Zone:1xPerdition Cleric,Hakkai**

* * *

 _ **Turn 6 - Shindou Ryuga**_

"A person's true nature is revealed in fights no matter how well they try to hide it and that includes for both of us,Stalker-san." I said "Stalker" really slow in order to piss off Ibuki. He had a calm face,but I knew that this was starting to get to him.

"Stand and Draw! " I swinged the virtual card to my hand as my vanguard in the board standed up.

"Bring me the Future that I seek to create my other self! Ride! Chronojet Dragon (G3/PW 11000)!" I threw the card as Smokegear glew in a blue light that revealed Chronojet Dragon in it's full glory.

"Stride Genaration...Miracle Element, Atmos (G4/PW 26000)!" I discarted Smithereen Colossus(G3/PW 10000) to the drop zone as the cost and the card shone in a light that was another special effect of this system. Chronojet transformed into a giant yellow celestial body with an halo on it's head and wings in it's back.

'Atmos? I don't recall giving him that card,could this mean that he has modified his deck to adapt to his fighting style?' Ibuki thought to himself as Ryuga continued his move.

"Stride Skill! I send your Lava Flow to the bottom of your deck then I call Stream Fighter,Amber to the left (G2/PW 9000)!" Atmos aimed his large hand as a hole opened below Lava Flow and sucked it into it then it disappeared as Amber came out of that hole.

"Boosted by Tick-tock,Amber attacks your vanguard (PW 14000)! Skill activate! Sending Tarayev in front of it to the bottom of your deck." Amber shot energy slash from his weapon that made Tarayev disappear as it jumped to slash Break Down Dragon.

"Guard!Perdition Dancer,Agafia (SD 21000)!" A lady blocked Amber's weapon and vanished afterwards.

"Atmos attacks your vanguard (PW 26000)!" Atmos created a white colored ball with his giant hads and shoots it at Break Down.

"Perfect Guard! Protect Orb Dragon (SD 0)! A red chinese dragon appears as Ibuki discarted a draw trigger to pay the cost for the defense.

"Triple Drive! First check,Get Stand trigger[Stomach Clock Gear Rabbit (G0/ PW 5000)]! All effects to Amber. Second check,Get Heal trigger[Stem Maiden,Uluru(G0/PW 5000)] ,power to Amber and I heal 1 point of damage. Third check,Get critical trigger[Steam Battler,Dasaig(G0/PW 5000)],all effects to Amber as well." I couldn't believe my luck as Amber's PW went to 24000 with an extra crit and it standed as the ball of light was stopped by Protect Orb.

"Go Amber!" The fighter once again goes to Break Down for a second time and slashes it twice as the dragon finally yells in pain and Ibuki feels the presure of this attack.

"Damage trigger check,none [Perdition Dragon, Vortex Dragonewt(G3/PW 11000)].Second check,none[Perdition Dragon,Break Down Dragon(G3/PW 11000)]."

'The conditions for Legion have been achieved.' The two us thought at the same time,'The next thing I will do is Legion and retire-' Ibuki continued his pattern of thought unaware that Ryuga was thinking the same as him.

'-his left column and I must keep my hand so that I can guard against his next wave of attacks,most importantly his Ragnaclock Dragon will be able to use it's full power thanks to the fact that he added more G-units. And that is what he his thinking.' I antecipated Ibuki's pattern of thought.

"Well then...continue your **"lesson"** Stalker-san". I taunted him again as my turn ended.

'This fight is no longer under my control,I must take this seriously now,otherwise I will loose to this kid." Ibuki thought as he noticed that Ryuga was not the begginer that he was expecting him to be since he was the one who gave him the Gear Chronicle Deck.

* * *

 **Shindou Ryuga's Board - (Chronojet Dragon - (VC) ),(Tick-Tock Dracokid - (RC) to the left in the back row),(Steam Fighter,Amber -** **(RC) to the left in the front row)**

 **Damage [Steam Fighter,Amber](Facedown) [] [] [] [] [] Hand:7 GB:1**

 **G-Zone Face-Up: 1xMiracle Element, Atmos**

 **Drop Zone:2xLuckypot Dracokid,1xSmokegear Dragon,1xSmithereen Colossus  
**

 **Ibuki Kouji's Board- (Perdition Dragon,Break Down Dragon - (VC) ),(Perdition Dragon, Tinder Spear Dracokid - (RC) to the right in the back row),(Perdition Dragon Knight, Tarayev -(RC) to the right in the front row)**

 **Damage [Perdition Dancer,Anna] [Perdition Dragon, Vortex Dragonewt] [Perdition Dragon, Vortex Dragonewt] [** **Perdition Dragon,Break Down Dragon** **] [] []**

 **Hand:2 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone: 1x(Perdition Cleric,Hakkai),1x(Perdition Dancer,Agafia),1x(Protect Orb Dragon),1x(Perdition Sprite,Flaretrooper)**

* * *

 _ **Turn 7 - Ibuki Kouji**_

"Stand and Draw!" Ibuki slided the card from the deck to his hand and the units in his board stood up,"Seek Mate!" the four cards in his drop zone returned to his deck as the mate was slided into the (VC), "LEGION!" the symbol was shown in the console as Tarayev stood alongside Break Down.

"Legion Skill! I retire all units your left column!" Breakdown and Tarayev annihilated Amber and Tick-Tock.

"Breakdown,Tarayev Legion attack (PW 20000) ! Breakdown skill, power plus 2000 (PW 22000)!" The two units charged their cannons and fired at the same time.

"No guard!" I declared.

"Twin drive! First check,Get heal trigger [Perdition Dancer,Agafia(G0/PW 5000)],I heal 1 point of damage and give the power to my right-hand Tarayev(PW 14000). Second Check,Get critical trigger [Perdition Dragon,Buster Rain Dragon(G0/PW 5000)],giving both effects to Tarayev as well (PW 19000/Crit 2)." Both cards were revealed as triggers at the same time as Chronojet took the it creating a small curtain of smoke that when it vanished my vanguard had a bit of dust in it's body parts.

'I see. So that was why he did that crude guard earlier and didn't go for an attack when he had the chance to. He is more clever than what I gave him credit for.'

"What's wrong? It isn't going like you planned right?" I asked Ibuki as he had the face of someone who finally realized the why of my previous 'misplays'.

"You most likely expected me to call cards from my hand to the field so that you could mow them down with Break Down's Legion skill,emptying my field alongside my hand."I resumed,"The reason why I took risks when guarding thoose attacks at the beginning and didn't attack when Smokegear stood up was because I didn't wanted you to give me damage for me to worry about later and there was a risk that you could have got a draw or a heal at the time,making the attack useless. And if I conserved my hand,guarding agains high power attacks would become harder." I finished explaining my actions a few turns ago.

"I just realized as well a few moments ago,but it was too late,I will acknowledge that." Ibuki admited that he did a serious mistake in underestimating Ryuga.

'Attacking him any further will only give him more space for counterblasts and he isn't wasting them like an amateur.' Ibuki decided to end his turn."Turn End."

* * *

 **Shindou Ryuga's Board - (Chronojet Dragon - (VC) )**

 **Damage [Steam Fighter,Amber](Facedown) [Steam Striker,Workin] [] [] [] [] Hand:7 GB:1**

 **G-Zone Face-Up: 1xMiracle Element, Atmos**

 **Drop Zone:2x(Luckypot Dracokid),1x(Smokegear Dragon),1x(Smithereen Colossus),1x(** **Tick-Tock Dracokid),1x(** **Steam Fighter,Amber)**

 **Ibuki Kouji's Board- (Perdition Dragon,Break Down Dragon and** **Perdition Dragon Knight, Tarayev** **\- (VC) LEGION ),(Perdition Dragon, Tinder Spear Dracokid - (RC) to the right in the back row),(Perdition Dragon Knight, Tarayev -(RC) to the right in the front row)**

 **Damage [Perdition Dancer,Anna] (Facedown)[Perdition Dragon, Vortex Dragonewt] [** **Perdition Dragon,Break Down Dragon** **] [** **] [] [] Hand:3** **GB:0**

 **Drop Zone:  
**

* * *

 **Turn 8 - Shindou Ryuga  
**  
'He didn't conduct a second attack,which means that he has no way to guard Ragnaclock at the moment,not with a perfect guard at least otherwise he would have given the critical to his VG when he had the chance to do so. I still don't know if the card he drew is a bluff or not,but if it doesn't turn out to be then I must take advantage of this gap.

"Stand and Draw! You are finally taking me seriously." I say a bit happier that he is finally taking me seriously.

'I don't want to loose to a brat who just started playing,so it is natural.' Ibuki thinks as he decided to fire me up a bit,"Shindou,bring all you have!"

"As you wish! Generation Zone...Release! " I discarted a copy of my avatar to the drop Zone as the card shone,releasing the Generation Zone.

"Come from the future and and bring a new tomorrow! STRIDE GENERATION! I yelled out with more intensity usual I could,not noticing that I started to overload the system with my Stride Force.

"Interdimensional Dragon,Ragnaclock Dragon (G4/PW 26000)! Huh? Where is my unit?" I asked to Ibuki while the later noticed that the battlefield was starting to become buggier.

(Outside the building)

A giant vanguard circle appeared outside Vanguard Colosseum as Ragnaclock got out of the circle and it was seen by the children that were fighters outside the building then it disappeared from outside.

"Look mom it is a unit!" A kid says with stars in his eyes.

"Subaru,have you been watching too much television,let's go." The mother kindly takes the kid away.

(Vanguard Colosseum Fight Area)

It only passes a few seconds,but Ragnaclock Dragon appeared as the field was becoming more unstable.

"Ibuki-san! We should stop the fight right now! It is too dangerous to continue the cardfight,so both of you please stop this!" One of the workers outside pleads to Ibuki and Ryuga to stop the cardfight.

"And miss what happens next?! Fat chance!" We yelled out at the same time to the voice.

"Call! Steam Striker,Workin(G1/PW 7000) ; Steam Engineer,Cellius (G1/PW 7000)!"

"Workin's PW goes to 11000 with his skill (PW 11000)!"

"Cellius attacks Tarayev (PW 7000)! Skill,power plus 3000 (PW 10000)!" Cellius went for Tarayev.

"Guard! Perdition Dragon,Buster Rain Dragon." Cellius attack his stopped by Buster Pain.

"You really don't have a perfect guard." I confirmed my theory as Ibuki made his usual poker face.

"You would need a critical trigger to settle this." Ibuki just revealed his knowledge of Ragna's skill without even realizing it.

'He really sucks at hidding facts.' I think to myself.

"I will definetly draw it! With a boost from Workin,Ragnaclock attacks your Vanguard (PW 37000)! Skill activate! By paying 1 counterblast and flipping one copy from the G-Zone face-up you can't normal call grade 0 cards from your hand to the GC! Furthermore,since there are 2 cards face-up in my G-Zone,Ragnaclock gains 1 additional critical." Ragnaclock fires his signature move as it goes into the opposing Legion vanguard.

"Come from the fires of perdition and protect me! Perdition Dragon Knight,Sattar! Quintet Wall!" A dragon knight with a red shield appeard in front of Ragnaclock's attack, as the shield started to glow as five circles appeared in front of the shield and from thoose five different units appeared.

(Perdition Dancer,Anna (SD 16000);Perdition Dragon Knight,Gia(SD 21000);Perdition Dragon,Whirlwind Dragon (SD 26000);Lava Flow Dragon (SD 31000); Protect Orb Dragon (SD 31000))

"Furthermore guard and intercept (Perdition Dancer,Anna (SD 36000);Perdition Dragon Knight,Gia(SD 41000); Perdition Dragon Knight,Tarayev (SD 46000)!" Ibuki places his last line of defense in order to try to prevent a possible defeat as more reinforcements came to add more protection as the attack connects.

"You will need a double trigger for this to connect." Ibuki told me the obvious,but what he didn't mention is that one of them had to be a critical.

"Two people can play that game,stalker-kun." I irked him once again.

"In that case let's break that wall. Triple Drive check! First Check,Get critical trigger [Steam Battler,Dasaig(G0/PW 5000)] all effects to Ragnaclock (PW 42000/Crit 3)! Second Check [Withdrawn Gear Raven(G1/PW 6000/Sentinel)]!"The guardians were doing their best to endure the increase in power of Ragnaclock.

'This next check will settle this fight.' We both thought at the same time.

"Final Che-What?" I was about to check the last trigger when something unexpected happened...the system crashed.

"Huh?" It was the intelligent response that Ibuki and I gave at the current situation.

* * *

 **Emergency Shutdown - The GIRS system has entered an emergency shutdown any fighter in the room must leave at once,please leave the fight area.  
**

* * *

 **'WHAT THE HELL?! This was the best part and we got cockblocked by a MEANINGLESS SHUUUUUTDOWWWWWWWWWN!?'** I was really mad at this,but it couldn't be helped...sigh,sight,sigh. But the virtual table and the cards were still on the table so it is possible for us to finish the fight without the holograms,what am I saying this crash just ruined the mood.

"It seems that the GIRS has overloaded,so it will be impossible to finish this cardfight now." I said with some pity as Ibuki started to leave without the deck he builded.

"Where are you going?" I asked him as he continues to leave then I decided to add extra fuel to the pile of his patience,"You didn't forget to sign the completion of the quest haven't you Stalker-san?"Ibuki stops at that as a tick mark appears in his forehead.

"Do you really expect me to believe that the kid who I happened to accept the quest from would just leave his deck in the hands of a stranger like that?" I point out the contradiction and the flaw in it.

"No, you must have used your high position in order to keep a track of my quests and took advantage of one that wouldn't seem suspitious enough in order to move and bribed the kid so that you could replace him and fight me instead,but your atempt to scold me didn't work out like you expected." Ibuki listened as I revealed the truth behind of his little test,then he turned around,went to me and signed on my FICA with his name as my grade went from 0 to 1 as the FICA's line colours became black.

'Yeah,grade 1! Two more to go and hello regionals.' I was pleased at the grade up,but still...

"I wonder what the third check was?" Out of curiosity my hand touched the top of my deck,took a look and a small smirk was seen in my face,making Ibuki curious to see the card,but I placed it back on top.

"Let's leave it at that Ibuki-san." I told Ibuki and he tried to leave once again.

(Flashback)

'I wonder what the third check was?' Out of curiosity my hand touched the top of my deck,took a look and it was Steam Maiden,Uluru.

'Seems I won Stalker'. I grinned in thought and smirked a bit as Ibuki tried to see the card,but I prevented him from seeing it since I already done enought damage for one day.

(End of Flashback)

"One more thing." I smilled with a very,very kind smile and said this, ** _"Next time you try to mess with me, I will beat the hell out of you Kouji."_** I threatned him in a cold tone with killing intent that made him shiver a bit from it as he tried to hide it while keeping my smile. And with that he left.

"Well I have nothing better to do so might as well get going" I left the fighting area and the colosseum.

* * *

(Unknow Location)

Ibuki Kouji is staring at the sky unable to understand how Rive's son figured it out that he was following him for the past few weeks and the fact that his cardfighting skills were even better than what he expected them to be.

'What the hell was that? It was like I was powerless before him in that moment. How did he develop such a killing intent?' I couldn't understand how a mere brat managed to paralize me with his killing intent even thought I am a skilled fighter myself.

"He has potential,however it seems that he has reached his current limit,I might as well send him new cards so that he can start to construct his own deck. But I must use other means so that he doesn't get anymore suspicious of me than he already is." Ibuki states as he decides to gives quests or sending mails as pretexts in order to give Ryuga more Gear Chronicle cards without stakl-following the boy,it wasn't because he was afraid or anything like that of the really,but really sweet smille.

"What did he checked in the end though?" I wondered as the data of the cardfight was transmited to my phone and checked what card he had yet to reveal alongside my damage check and made a smal frown.

"Even though I wasn't using my real deck,it seems that I lost this time around Shindou Ryuga,but next time I will be the winner. For the sake of Vanguard and my atonment I will do whatever it needs to be done." With that,I continued to stare at the sky wondering what will happen next.

* * *

(Next Day)

(Shindou Mikuru's apartment complex)

Right now I am preparing my bento as well as thinking about the events that came after Ibuki's fight from the Anime, but I don't recall everything that happens afterwards except for the Regionals and the United Sanctuary special match against Team Demise and well things have already changed,better get ready for the new events that might happen. Asides I am looking forward to eat my bento then go on a quest.

(School's hallway)

'It's lunch time,so this means time to chow the food' I thought as I am in the hallway,when I hear a "Kyaah!" turned around and see Okazaki Kumi on the ground looking for something.

"My melon bread...My melon bread...Where did it go?" She says as I looked at her with some pity about her situation.I decided to help her as I saw the bread a bit far from her and picked it up.

"Here." I show her the melon bread and hand it to her.

"Shindou-kun...Thank goodness! Theese are delicious aren't they? Thanks!" Kumi thanks me as she was bowing to me as it appeared that she was being forced to hand me over her lunch.

"Okazaki, please stop doing that before someone else misunders-" I try to make her stop thanking me like I was some deity but then the worst possible person to see this messy situation had to show up.

"HEY,SHINDOU! You're a jerk,you know that!?" I heard Tokoha's yell and shook my head down knowing that it was game over before it started.

* * *

Tokoha's P.O.V

"I wonder what I'll get for lunch,huh?" I walked in the hallway as I went to buy my lunch until I see Kumi-chan bowing to Shindou Ryuga as she was handing her melon bread to him.

"That jerk!" I rushed to them as I would give Shindou a piece of my mind for bullying Kumi-chan.

"HEY, SHINDOU! You're a jerk,you know that!?" I start to scold him as he shook his head down like he was getting bothered by a pest.

"It's a misunderstanding Anjou, ask Okazaki." Shindou lifts his head as he tried to get my atention to Kumi-chan.

"Don't give me that Shindou! It was obvious that you were forcing Kumi-chan to give you the food." The nerve of this guy.

* * *

Ryuga's P.O.V

'Not again...' I sighed as Tokoha misunderstood what was happening here as the remaining students in the hallway were looking at us right now.

"Don't you have any shame in doing something like this to a girl?! And I thought you were a better person than this! " Tokoha keeps the sermon.

"Anjou, why would I need to take her food if I already have a bento with me?" I try to reason with her as she saw the bag with the box in my left hand.

"Huh, Tokoha-chan, Shindou-kun wasn't trying to take my melon bread,in fact I lost it and I was having trouble finding it until he found it and gave it back to me,so I was thanking him." Okazaki Kumi explains to her friend that she was bowing to me as a thanks and not because I was forcing her to.

"I already told her that she was going to cause a misunderstanding,but the damage is already done,bye and enjoy your lunches." With a sigh,I left them as the green-haired girl was regreting the fact that she yelled at her classmate in front of thoose other students without trying to understanding what was going on before hand,feeling guilty and embarassed by her actions she decided to go and apologise Ryuga for the mess that she made.

(Classroom)

" I'm sorry about what happened just now Shindou." Tokoha apologized to me as she was bowing deeply for jumping to conclusions earlier.

"I don't mind,asides this not the first time that I am caught in a misunderstanding." I told her as it was fine since I am always getting into this kind of situations one way or another as I kept eating my bento.

"How can you be fine with that? I was so mean to you just now." Tokoha is trying to understand the why I didn't mind about what happened with her earlier.

"Do you have any idea of how many troubles I am always getting into even when I am not the cause of it?" I ask her with some sarcasm as I with some bitterness recalled the fights that I got into against other people,including highschoolers,college students,thugs and the list just goes on... for all kinds of reasons even when I had nothing to do with it,but ended caught in them somehow.

"But that is no reason to not be mad at it." Tokoha was still insisting as she felt bad about earlier.

"Anjou,I have given up on getting mad by such mundane matters a very long ago. Now,if you don't have anything else to say to me,please stop bothering me." I told her as I finished eating the bento and decide to take another look at my deck,ignoring her, she quickly took the hint and left the classroom.

* * *

Tokoha's P.O.V

(Anjou's House)

I am currently having dinner with my parents and my big brother Mamoru as he managed to come home from his job in the Dragon Empire branch as the current Kagero Clan leader and for dinner we were having hotpot.

"Hey Tokoha,have you hear anything recently about a new clan?" My brother asked me if I heard about the new clan that has appeared recently.

"You mean the Gear Chronicle that Shindou Ryuga has?" I replied to him as it was the only one that was coming to my mind.

"Shindou Ryuga-kun ?" He asks me as my dad tries to grab a piece of meat with his chopsticks.

"Dad, the meat's not ready yet." I tell my dad as he just takes them away from the pot.

"Yes, he is a classmate from the same class as me and the one with the Gear Chronicle deck.I have seen him fight before and he was really good at it even though he just started recently. He is a person who normally is always by himself and kind of mysterious." I give him a small description of the swirl red haired boy.

"He sounds like an interesting guy,so this means that you are friends?" He asks me if I was friends with him and I recalled what happened during lunchtime earlier.

"Not really." It was all I could answer as I couldn't exactly call him friend even after he forgave me for what happened.

"But still,who knew that a classmate of yours would be the one with the Gear Chronicle clan. I would like to fight him myself sometime if he is as good as you say that he is." He said as he was showing interest in Shindou Ryuga and wished to fight him.

"There is no need for you to go out of your way just to fight him you know? And I was the fist on line to do so!" I complain to him as he was trying to get ahead of me on the line to cardfight against Shindou.

"Is that so? Then good luck Tokoha." He wishes me luck at that.

'But now I am more interested in fighting him now.' Mamoru thought to himself.

'I wonder how that swirl learned to be so patient. If it was me in that situation,I would have snapped and answered back.' I thought not knowing that Shindou Ryuga sneezed at that.

* * *

(Next Day)

Ryuga's P.O.V

(Card Capital 2)

After fighting Ibuki the other day,I don't feel like taking on a quest that involves any kind of intense effort,so might as well take a simple cardfight request at this shop if there is one avalable right now. I arrived at the usual cardshop as Kamui greeted me as he shows me a letter.

"Ryuga I have a letter here for you." He extended his hand to give me the mail that was most likely sent by Stalker-san.

I grabbed the letter from Kamui and checked it's contents," New Gear Chronicle units and two copies of a new G-Unit as well." I say as Ibuki has finally decided to give me some extra gears support,but I notice that the G-Unit's effect sucked as always.

'Seriously! Only an amateur would get hit by this kind skill." Here I was complaining in my thoughts and time seemed to stop around me as my vision went blank.

* * *

(Unknown Location)

I woke up fully aware that something strange was going on as people normally don't have blackouts like that unless you are really tired or sleepy.

"Where am I this time?" I wonder out loud as everything around me was dark when Chronoscommand Dragon appeared in front of me and stared at me.

"Cool! This is the second time that I get to see a Gear Chronicle unit from this close,it is a bit of a shame that your skill sucks,no offense Chronoscommand." I told him as my body started to have a rainbow colored aura around it.

"What the hell is going on here?!" I shout as the aura went from my body in a ray forwards Chronoscommand.

"Chronoscommand are you alright?" I asked the Gear Dragon with some concern as I knew nothing about this aura and what it could do.

"Roooarrrr!" He screamed as his body was glowing in the same color. It lasted a few seconds and he shrinked into a light ball that went straight into the two cards that had his image on them. The cards started to shine in the same colour and when it was done, there was nothing different except that the card's texts had changed completely.

"Interesting. Chronoscomand's effect in the text had changed and now it was more flexible than it was in the series and the skill is quite amazing and it doesn't suck,but the cost is still a bit heavier than before. Oh well, no pain no gain." I said as I continued to check the remaining cards in this subspace where I was trapped until it all went black.

* * *

(Back at Card Capital 2)

I found myself back at Card Capital 2 as Kamui began to speak.

"That's neat, you should try to put them in your deck, one of the best parts of this game is that you can customize your deck to better suit your playstyle. Althought you have already did something like that before with the Cray Elemental G-Units." Kamui explains to me as he recommends me to try them out. " I am the best person for you to-" I interrupted him.

"Kamui-san, how long was I out?" I asked to Kamui as he seemed confused by my question.

"What are you talking about Ryuga,you just mentioned that there were two copies of the same G-Unit just now." He told me.

'Could it be that time was stopped except for me in that instance?' I privately came to that conclusion as it was the only possibility right now.

"Forget that. Didn't Misaki-san told you the other day that is she saw you slacking off again,your paycheck would get cut in half?" I changed the topic as well reminding him of a previous situation where after we arrived from a quest, Tokura Misaki was there waiting for Kamui to arrive and she gave him off a slight warning.

"Fine,fine, then go on a quest to try them out or something." He sulks because of the reminder of that experience.

* * *

 **Quest- I'm a beginner. I want to get strong,so please be my opponent.I'm waiting at Card Capital 2."  
**  
 **Sender: Okazaki Kumi  
**  
 **Clan: Oracle Think Thank  
**  
 **Reward:100 Points**

 **Accept**

 **Cancel**

* * *

'Perfect, it seems that the easy quest that I needed just came for me.' I just Accepted as Okazaki Kumi and Anjou Tokoha appeared before me a few seconds later.

"Shindou-kun, thank you for accepting my quest.I'm looking forward to this." Kumi politely thanks me for accepting her quest to be her opponent as we go to the fighting table.

"Okazaki, could you choose the field while I'm customizing my deck?" I asked the girl herself as I was changing a few cards from my deck for a few of the new ones that were in the letter and added the two copies of my new G-Unit as well.

"You've got new Gear Chronicle units Shindou?" Tokoha asks me with surprise in her voice as she avoided looking at me in the eyes for some reason.

"Yeah, it seems that a mysterious person has sent me new support for the clan and I was really needing it." I replied to her as I finished my adjustments and Kumi finished deciding the field.

"Let's go Okazaki!" I said excited for a calm fight.

"Good luck and have fun Shindou-kun." Kumi wishes me luck as well.

"Stand up! Owari No Vanguard!" I shout as usual.

"Stand up,Vanguard." Kumi says in a calm tone.

"Oi,oi,oi, they weren't in sync at all." Tsuneto says as he felt that this fight was going to be mundane.

"Tick-Tock Dracokid!" (G0/PW 5000) I announced the name of my starter.

"Battle Sister,Waffle!"(G0/PW 5000) Kumi does the same with hers.

 _ **Turn 1 - Shindou Ryuga**_

"Draw. I will ride Steam Breath Dragon (G1/ PW 7000) ." Tick-tock was surrounded by 4 Gear Chronicle symbols that turned it into a purple gear dragon.

"Moving Tick-Tock to a RG circle behind him and that is all for my turn." Tick-tock appeared behind Steam Breath as I ended my turn.

* * *

 **Shindou Ryuga's Board - (Steam Breath Dragon - (VC) ),(** **Tick-Tock Dracokid - (RC) behind (VG) )**

 **Damage [] [] [] [] [] [] Hand:5 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone:**

 **Okazaki Kumi's Board- (Battle Sister,Waffle - (VC) )**

 **Damage [] [] [] [] [] [] Hand:5 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone:  
**

* * *

 _ **Turn 2 - Okazaki Kumi**_

"So it's my turn right?" Kumi asked me and I nooded in response as she takes her turn as she draws her card.

"Um... in that case... which one to ride?" Kumi was thinking of which unit to ride while I was thinking about what I would make for dinner tonight,"I know this one, Battle Sister,Lollipop Ride (G1/ PW 7000)! Moving Waffle to the back ,then I attack your vanguard (PW 12000)." Loliipop jumped straight to Stream Breath.

"Go for it." I said casually.

" It is the drive check right? No trigger [Battle Sister Chocollat(G1/PW 6000/Sentinel)]" The battle nun slammed the purple dragon with her toy-weapon.

"Damage Check,get draw trigger [Luckypot Dracokid(G0/PW 4000)] I will draw a card." I drew a card.

"I end my turn" Kumi ends her turn as the Trinity Dragons were watching he moves with very bored expressions in their faces except for Nagara Kei who was already snooring.

"You know,this is..." Karl begins to muter,"...a really,really...mundane fight" as Tsuneto finishes for him.

* * *

 **Shindou Ryuga's Board - (Stream Breath Dragon - (VC) ),(** **Tick-Tock Dracokid - (RC) behind (VG) )**

 **Damage [Luckypot Dracokid] [] [] [] [] [] Hand:6 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone:**

 **Okazaki Kumi's Board- (Battle Sister,Lollipop - (VC) ),** **(Battle Sister,Waffle - (RC) behind (VC) )**

 **Damage [] [] [] [] [] [] Hand:6 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone:**

* * *

 _ **Turn 3 - Shindou Ryuga**_

"My turn." I announced the start of my turn to Kumi as she agreed, "Right."

"No,watch them. It's not a vanilla fight. It is just that girl has her way of doing things,but she is deceptively strong." Kamui disagreed with Tsuneto and Karl's words as he noticed that Ryuga wasn't showing his usual enthusiasm when he fights.

"Draw, ride Smokegear Dragon (G2/PW 10000) ." I placed the card in the (VC) with a passive voice as Steam Breath became Smokegear.

"I will also call Steam Breath Dragon to the (RC) and activate it's skill. By revealing a grade 3 from my hand [Ruin Disposal Dragon](G3/ PW 11000) I can search for a unit with "Chronojet" grade 3 in it's name from my deck being Chronojet Dragon and add it to my hand,then I discard a card,in this case it will be the card I revealed earlier." I explained her the steps of my play as I was testing how this deck worked now.

"I attack your vanguard with Steam Breath (PW 7000)."Steam Breath fires a yellow breath from it's mouth at Lollipop.

"No guard. Damage Check,no trigger [Battle Sister,Marshmallow(G2/PW 9000)]." Kumi places her card in the damage zone.

"With a boost from Tick-Tock, Smokegear attacks your Vanguard (PW 15000)." Smokegear rushes forwards the battle nun.

"No guard." Kumi doesn't defend once again.

"Drive check, no trigger [Steam Knight, Puzur-IIi](G2/ PW 9000)." I added the mate of Disposal to my hand as Smokegear slashed Lollipop with his claw.

"Damage check, no trigger [Battle Sister,Lollipop]" Kumi repeats her action.

"Activating Tick-Tock's skill. By placing this card in the soul after boosting an attack that landed a sucessfull hit in your Vanguard, I can choose a grade 1 or less unit you have and place it on the bottom of your deck,then I draw a card." Tick-tock and Waffle vanished as I drew a card and Kumi placed her Waffle on the bottom of her deck with a sad expression, "That is all." I concluded

* * *

 **Shindou Ryuga's Board - (Smokegear Dragon - (VC) ),** **(Stream Breath Dragon - (RC) to the right in the front row)**

 **Damage [Luckypot Dracokid](Facedown) [] [] [] [] [] Hand:7 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone:** **1xRuin Disposal Dragon**

 **Okazaki Kumi's Board- (Battle Sister,Lollipop - (VC) )**

 **Damage [Battle Sister,Marshmallow] [Battle Sister,Lollipop] [] [] [] [] Hand:6 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone:**

* * *

 _ **Turn 4 - Okazaki Kumi**_

"Stand and draw. Battle Sister Marshmallow (G2/PW 9000) Ride! Call! Battle Sister Cocoa (G1/ PW 6000),with her skill,I check the top card of my deck and leave it there." Kumi leaves the card in the top of her deck which no doubt it is something that she will need,"With a boost from Cocoa,Marshmallow will attack your vanguard ! (PW 15000)." Marshmallow fired a light arrow at Smokegear.

"No guard". I say as there was no point to guard.

"Drive trigger check! Critical trigger [Battle Sister,Ginger[G0/PW 5000)]! Giving all the effects to my Vanguard (PW 20000 Crit 2)." The light arrow splitted in two and landed a shot in Smokey's neck as it yelled in pain.

"Damage check,no trigger [Steam Fighter,Amber](G2/ PW 9000).Second Check,no trigger [Smokegear Dragon(G2/PW 10000)]" I placed my cards in the damage Zone as she ended her turn.

"Good going Kumi-chan,keep it up!" Tokoha cheers for Kumi who noods her head in response.

* * *

 **Shindou Ryuga's Board - (Smokegear Dragon - (VC) ),** **(Stream Breath Dragon - (RC) to the right in the front row)**

 **Damage [Luckypot Dracokid](Facedown) [Steam Fighter,Amber] [Smokegear Dragon] [] [] [] Hand:7 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone:** **1xRuin Disposal Dragon**

 **Okazaki Kumi's Board - (Battle Sister,Marshmallow - (VC) ),(Battle Sister,Cocoa - (RC) behind (VC) )**

 **Damage [** **Battle Sister,Marshmallow** **] [** **Battle Sister,Lollipop** **] [] [] [] [] Hand:6 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone:**

* * *

 _ **Turn 5 - Shindou Ryuga**_

"Stand and Draw. Bring me the Future that I seek to create! Ride! Chronojet Dragon (G3/PW 11000)" I said more excitely as my Smokegear Dragon evolved into Chronojet.

"I will move Steam Breath to the back and call two Steam Fighter,Amber(G2/PW 9000) along with 1 Masergear Dragon (G1 /PW 8000) behing Chronojet." I decided to drop a few more units in order to accelerate the game. "Amber attacks your vanguard (PW 9000)." Amber runs in Marshmallow's direction.

"Guard! Battle Sister Cocoa (SD 14000)" Cocoa appears in front of Amber and stops him from going any further as she shooks her hand with a no,no sign.

"Booster by Masergear, Chronojet Dragon attacks your vanguard (PW 19000)." Chronojet rushes to punch Marshmallow.

"Perfect Guard!" Kumi places Battle Sister Chocolat as she discards 1 card [Battle Sister,Mille-feuille(G3/PW 11000)] in order to pay the cost. Chronojet is stopped by a nun who fires her shootgun in such a clumsy way that he is forced to dodge every bullet that actually goes into his direction,making him forget Marshmallow.

"Twin Drive. First check,none[Steam Maiden,Arlim(G1/ PW 6000/Sentinel)] .Second check,no trigger [Steam Breath Dragon(G1/PW 7000)]." I added the checked cards to my hand.

"Next the second Amber boosted by Steam Breath attacks your vanguard (PW 16000)" Amber went for the opening that was left after the clumsy nun disappeared.

"No guard! Damage Check! Critical trigger[Psychic Bird(G0/PW 4000)],giving all effects to my vanguard( PW 14000 Crit 2)" Kumi gave the effects to her vanguard as it was slammed by Amber.

"Turn End!" I declare the end of my turn.

* * *

 **Shindou Ryuga's Board - (Chronojet Dragon - (VC) ),(Masergear Dragon - (RC) behind (VC) ),** **(Stream Fighter,Amber - (RC) to the right in the front row)** **(Stream Breath Dragon - (RC) to the right in the back row),** **(Stream Fighter,Amber - (RC) to the left in the front row)**

 **Damage [Luckypot Dracokid](Facedown) [Steam Fighter,Amber] [Smokegear Dragon] [] [] [] Hand:6 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone:** **1xRuin Disposal Dragon**

 **Okazaki Kumi's Board - (Battle Sister,Marshmallow - (VC) ),(Battle Sister,Cocoa - (RC) behind (VC) )**

 **Damage [** **Battle Sister,Lollipop** **] [** **Battle Sister,Lollipop** **] [Psychic Bird] [] [] [] Hand:3 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone: 1xBattle Sister,Cocoa;1x Battle Sister,Mille-feuille; 1x** **Battle Sister, Chocolat**

* * *

 _ **Turn 6 - Okazaki Kumi**_

"Stand and Draw! Battle Sister,Mille-feuille(G3/PW 11000) ride!"Marshmallow glowed in a light until it became an older nun with a black battle dress and was handling two katanas on both hands,"With her skill,I draw a card" Kumi drew her card.

"Generation Zone...Release!" Kumi discarted the card that was drawn throught Mille's effect which was another copy of Mille," Stride Generation! Soaring Auspicious Beast, Kirin (G4/PW 26000)."Mille transformed into a giant golden Mythical beast as it roared out loud.

"Call Battle Sister,Mocha(G2/PW 8000)." Another battle nun shows up.

'Tokoha-chan told me if I managed to land a hit with Kirin,I could increase my hand.'Kumi thinks to herself as she decided to go with the mythical beast first,"With a boost from Cocoa,Kirin will attack your vanguard (PW 31000). Kirin starts to charge straight to my vanguard.

'If Kirin attack makes a hit,she will reinforce her hand,so better drop Arlim here.' I thought to myself as Kirin kept charging at Chronojet.

"Perfect guard. Steam Maiden Arlim(SD 0)." I calmly discarted 1 card which was Steam Striker,Workin(G1/PW 7000) as Arlim recieved Kirin's charge and sent him backwards.

"Triple drive! First check,critical trigger [Psychic Bird(G0/PW 4000)]! All effects to Mocha (PW 13000/Crit 2).Second check,none[Battle Sister,Cocote(G2/PW 9000)]. Third Check,none [Battle Sister,Omelet (G1/PW 7000)]." Kirin recovered from Arlim's throw as Mocha prepared herself for battle.

"Mocha attack his vanguard (PW 13000/Crit 2).With her skill,since I have more than 3 cards in my hand her power goes up by 3000 (PW 16000/Crit 2)" Mocha jumped to kick Chronojet.

"No guard. Damage check,none [Steam Maiden,Arlim(G0/PW 6000/Sentinel)].Second check,Critical trigger [Steam Battler,Meshda(G0/PW 5000)] .All effects to my vanguard (PW 16000/Crit 2." A spin kick was given to Chronojet Dragon as he was bounced back a bit from the impact.

"Tsuneto, wake me up when this is over..." Karl went to the dreamland were Kei was waiting him and they began a fight in that wonderfull world.

"Karl,you left the boat as well,but for the sake of **that**. I must stay awake." Tsuneto swore that he wouldn't fall asleep due to Okazaki Kumi's fighting.

"Why are the Trinity Dragon even here if they are this bored?" Tokoha asked Kamui as she wondered why they were even watching the cardfight if it was so boring to them." Tsuneto and the gang are only here to see if Ryuga finally looses. You see,Ryuga has already won more than 50 times in a row at this shop without a single defeat and we all made a bet of how long it would take until he either looses or reaches a 100 victories in a row here." Kamui explained to Tokoha about a bet that he had made with the Trinity Dragon without Ryuga's knowledge.

"How much did you bet?" I asked Kamui out of curiosity. "Let's say that the money can afford a few dates." Kamui avoids mentioning the amount of cake to be won from the bet.

"You'd better share some of that with me if you win Kamui-san or I am telling Misaki-san about this since I am sure that she doesn't allows these kind of bets." I blackmailed him as he gulped.

'Boys.' Tokoha sighs.

"How come that you guys haven't fight each other yet?" Kamui asked to us since the top players in this shop should cross paths one day sooner or later.

"Well, Anjou wanted to fight me,but we never got the time to do it or I was simply to busy with quests and homework from school." I explained the why of me and Tokoha never fought against each other.

"Same reason." Tokoha agreed with me.

Kumi-chan is getting better,but Shindou has also improved a lot since I saw him fighting last still...' Tokoha has seen how far Ryuga had improved since last week.

* * *

 **Shindou Ryuga's Board - (Chronojet Dragon - (VC) ),(Masergear Dragon - (RC) behind (VC) ),** **(Stream Fighter,Amber - (RC) to the right in the front row)** **(Stream Breath Dragon - (RC) to the right in the back row),** **(Stream Fighter,Amber - (RC) to the left in the front row)**

 **Damage [Luckypot Dracokid](Facedown) [Steam Fighter,Amber] [Smokegear Dragon] [Steam Maiden,Arlim] [Steam Battler,Meshda] [] Hand:4 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone:** **1xRuin Disposal Dragon;1xSteam Striker,Workin; 1xSteam Maiden,Arlim**

 **Okazaki Kumi's Board - (Battle Sister,Mille-feuille - (VC) ),** **(Battle Sister,Cocoa - (RC) behind (VC) ),** **(Battle Sister,Mocha - (RC) to the right in the front row )**

 **Damage [** **Battle Sister,Lollipop** **] [** **Battle Sister,Lollipop** **] [Psychic Bird] [] [] [] Hand:5 GB:1**

 **G-Zone Face-up: 1xSoaring Auspicious Beast, Kirin**

 **Drop Zone: 1xBattle Sister,Cocoa;2x Battle Sister,Mille-feuille; 1x** **Battle Sister, Chocolat;1x** **Battle Sister,Marshmallow**

* * *

 _ **Turn 7 - Shindou Ryuga**_

"Is this the best that you can do? The last time I saw you fightning, it seemed that you were more focussed in your pursuit for victory." Tokoha says it while looking at me as I gave a small chuckle at that.

"What's so funny Shindou?!" Tokoha asks as she was getting a bit mad at my laugh.

"Anjou,I didn't guard that because now even if Okazaki were to get a heal trigger,she couldn't recover damage until the sixth one unless I score a heal during the drive checks from this turn " I told her while being amused."I was just taking this easy on her you know ? I didn't even started to take the fight seriously yet." I continued to talk to her.

"What?" Tokoha was taken back by the answer I gave her.

"He is right you know? Ryuga is normally more cautious when dealing with his opponent's attacks and this time he acted like it didn't matter since he wanted to fight on a slower pace than usual." Kamui reinforces my statement.

"If you want to see me more determined,you got your wish!" I decided to turn up my gears.

"Stand and Draw! Generation Zone...Release!" I discarted 1 Steam Breath Dragon from my hand as the stride cost.

"Come from the future and and bring a new tomorrow! Stride Generation! Interdimensional Dragon,Ragnaclock Dragon(G4/PW 26000). Chronojet turned into Ragnaclock.

"Stride skill! Sending Cocoa to the bottom of your deck!" With a roar Ragnaclock opened a purple hole that sucked Cocoa into it.

"Amber attacks Mocha (PW 9000)!" Amber slams his weapon against Battle Sister,Mocha and the nun was destroyed in a small explosion.

"Boosted by Masergear,Ragnaclock attacks your vanguard (PW 34000)! Skill activate! Now you can't call grade 0 units from your hand to the (GC)!" Ragnaclock performed his signiature move.

"No guard." Kumi didn't have shields to defend this one.

"Triple Drive! First check,none [].Second check,get critical trigger[Steam battler,Meshda(G0/PW 5000)]! Giving the power to my right-hand Amber (PW 14000) and the critical goes to my vanguard. Third check,none[]."Ragnaclock's attack hit the mark as Mille was now barelly standing.

"Damage check. First Check,heal trigger[Battle Sister,Chai(G0/PW 5000)],giving the power to my vanguard."Chai appeared and hit Mille from behind with her paper fan that made her mad at Chai for doing that as she yelled at her while standing properly and Chai only winked and disappeared in response as Mille fumed at Chai's escape,"Second check,none[Battle Sister, Chocolat(G1/PW 6000/Sentinel)]." Kumi finished placing the cards in the damage zone with a funny expression.

"Boosted by Steam Breath,Amber attacks your vanguard (PW 21000)!" Amber dashed to Mille.

"Guard. Psychic Bird (SD 26000)!" A green bird had stopped Amber in it's tracks.

"Your move,Okazaki." I told her as my turn was over.

* * *

 **Shindou Ryuga's Board - (Chronojet Dragon - (VC) ),(Masergear Dragon - (RC) behind (VC) ),** **(Stream Fighter,Amber - (RC) to the right in the front row)** **(Stream Breath Dragon - (RC) to the right in the back row),** **(Stream Fighter,Amber - (RC) to the left in the front row)**

 **Damage [Luckypot Dracokid] (Facedown) [Steam Fighter,Amber] [Smokegear Dragon] [Steam Maiden,Arlim](Facedown) [Steam Battler,Meshda](Facedown) [] Hand:7 GB:2  
** **  
** **G-Zone Face-up:2x Interdimensional Dragon,Ragnaclock Dragon  
** **  
Drop Zone:** **1xRuin Disposal Dragon;1xSteam Striker,Workin; 1xSteam Maiden,Arlim**

 **Okazaki Kumi's Board - (Battle Sister,Mille-feuille - (VC) )**

 **Damage [** **Battle Sister,Lollipop** **] [** **Battle Sister,Lollipop** **] [Psychic Bird] [Battle Sister,Chai] [Battle Sister, Chocolat] [] Hand:4 GB:1**

 **G-Zone Face-up: 1xSoaring Auspicious Beast, Kirin**

 **Drop Zone: 1xBattle Sister,Cocoa;2x Battle Sister,Mille-feuille; 1x** **Battle Sister, Chocolat;1x** **Battle Sister,Marshmallow;** **1x** **Battle Sister,Mocha;1xPsychic Bird**

* * *

 _ **Turn 8 -Okazaki Kumi**_

"Vanguard is really fun Tokoha-chan,Shindou-kun." Kumi says this words to us as we smilled in response.

"Yeah,vanguard is really fun and exciting." I agreed with her as I looked at Chonojet Dragon's card.

"It allows us to build new bonds with people that we don't even know and experience emotions to a deeper is caplable of much,much more,the posibilities are almost endless." I said this with a pure smille in my face while Tokoha,Kumi and Kamui looked at me as if they have seen me for the first time.

'Is this really Shindou's true nature?' Tokoha tought as she finally understood that the person in front of her was not like the rumours described him of being a bad person at all,but the very opposite from it and no bad person could do a face like that.

'So that is his true face huh?' Kamui thought as he observed Ryuga.

"Amazing Shindou-kun! I only started recently as well,but I don't have such strong feelings for vanguard as you do." Kumi told me with a slight look of jealousy.

"That is very good,but we are getting of topic here,let's resume our fight Okazaki." I tell her to go back to the fighting mood.

"Stand and Draw!" Kumi drew her card as she got back to where the game was left off.

"I will activate Meille-feuille's generation break 1 skill! Checking the top two cards,add 1 of them and place the other on the bottom of my deck.I will use the same skill again."Kumi checks her top two cards twice so that she can get more resources for the fight.

"Then I will call 2 Battle Sister,Cocotte (G2/PW 9000) and 2 Battle Sister,Omelete(G1/PW 7000)!" Two more nuns and a action girl appeared on Kumi's side of the field.

"With a boost from Omelete,Cocotte attacks your vanguard (PW 16000)!" The first nun advances to Chronojet Dragon.

"Intercept (SD 21000)!" My Ambers incecepted the first Cocotte with ease.

"My vanguard will attack yours (PW 11000)!" Mille unsheaths her katanas as she goes to my vanguard.

"Guard! Steam Battler,Meshda (SD 21000)!" Meshda' chains Mille's left leg from behind as she tries to release herself from them.

"Twin Drive! First check,none[Battle Sister,Cocoa[G1/PW 6000)].Second check,critical trigger[Battle Sister Ginger(G0/PW 5000)]! All effects to the other Cocotte (PW 14000/Crit 2)."

"Boosted by Omelete my second Cocotte attacks your vanguard as well (PW 21000/Crit 2)! The other nun atemps to do what her twin has failled to do.

"Guard! Steam Maiden,Uluru(SD 21000) and Steam Knight, Puzur-IIi(SD 26000)!" Uluru and Puzur-IIi blocked Cocotte's halberd.

"Turn end." Kumi ends her turn. 'I have 2 perfects guards in my hand,so I should be able to endure this turn.'

* * *

 **Shindou Ryuga's Board - (Chronojet Dragon - (VC) ),(Masergear Dragon - (RC) behind (VC) ),** **(Stream Breath Dragon - (RC) to the right in the back row),**

 **Damage [Luckypot Dracokid] (Facedown) [Steam Fighter,Amber] [Smokegear Dragon] [Steam Maiden,Arlim](Facedown) [Steam Battler,Meshda](Facedown) [] Hand:4 GB:2  
** **  
** **G-Zone Face-up:2x Interdimensional Dragon,Ragnaclock Dragon  
** **  
Drop Zone:** **1xRuin Disposal Dragon;1xSteam Striker,Workin; 1xSteam Maiden,Arlim;1x** **Steam Battler,Meshda;Steam Maiden,Uluru;1xSteam Knight, Puzur-III**

 **Okazaki Kumi's Board - (Battle Sister,Mille-feuille - (VC) ),(Battle Sister,Cocotte - (RC) to the right in the front row),(Battle Sister,Omelete - (RC) to the right in the back row),** **(Battle Sister,Cocotte - (RC) to the left in the front row),** **(Battle Sister,Omelete - (RC) to the left in the back row)**

 **Damage [** **Battle Sister,Lollipop** **](Facedown) [** **Battle Sister,Lollipop** **](Facedown) [Psychic Bird](Facedown) [Battle Sister,Chai](Facedown) [Battle Sister, Chocolat] [] Hand:5 GB:1**

 **G-Zone Face-up: 1xSoaring Auspicious Beast, Kirin**

 **Drop Zone: 1xBattle Sister,Cocoa;1x Battle Sister,Mille-feuille; 1x** **Battle Sister, Chocolat;1x** **Battle Sister,Marshmallow;** **1x** **Battle Sister,Mocha;1xPsychic Bird**

* * *

 _ **Turn 9 -Shindou Ryuga**_

"Stand and Draw!" I standed my units on the table as I drew my card.

"Call! Relic Master Dragon(G2/PW 9000) to the right! I send your left-hand Cocotte to the bottom of your deck with it's skill !" Relic Master shot down the battle nun on the left.

"Boosted by Masergear,Chronojet Dragon attacks your vanguard (PW 19000)! Chronojet's generation break 2 activate! He gains more 5000 power (PW 24000) and you can't call grade 1 or above cards from your hand to (GC) !"Chronojet Dragon rushes for the second time to punch Mille.

'Oh,no! I can't guard that!' Kumi knew that she had to bet on a heal trigger to turn the tides,"No guard." she said softly.

"Twin drive! First check,none[Ruin Disposal Dragon(G3/PW 11000].Second check,none[Steam Striker,Workin(G1/PW 7000)]."Chronojet Dragon's right fist punched Mille in the face as the nun tried to get up from the hard blow.

"Damage check,none[Battle Sister, Mille-feuille]".The sixth damage was placed on Kumi's board as the leader of the nuns fainted.

* * *

 **Shindou Ryuga's Board - (Chronojet Dragon - (VC) ),(Masergear Dragon - (RC) behind (VC) ),** **(Stream Breath Dragon - (RC) to the right in the back row),**

 **Damage [Luckypot Dracokid] (Facedown) [Steam Fighter,Amber](Facedown) [Smokegear Dragon](Facedown) [Steam Maiden,Arlim](Facedown) [Steam Battler,Meshda](Facedown) [] Hand:4 GB:2  
** **  
** **G-Zone Face-up:2x Interdimensional Dragon,Ragnaclock Dragon  
** **  
Drop Zone:** **1xRuin Disposal Dragon;1xSteam Striker,Workin; 1xSteam Maiden,Arlim; 2x Steam Fighter,Amber; 1x** **Steam Battler,Meshda; Steam Maiden,Uluru ;1xSteam Knight, Puzur-III**

 **Okazaki Kumi's Board - (Battle Sister,Mille-feuille - (VC) ),(Battle Sister,Cocotte - (RC) to the right in the front row),(Battle Sister,Omelete - (RC) to the right in the back row),** **(Battle Sister,Omelete - (RC) to the left in the back row)**

 **Damage [** **Battle Sister,Lollipop** **](Facedown) [** **Battle Sister,Lollipop** **](Facedown) [Psychic Bird](Facedown) [Battle Sister,Chai](Facedown) [Battle Sister, Chocolat] [Battle Sister, Mille-feuille] Hand:5 GB:1**

 **G-Zone Face-up: 1xSoaring Auspicious Beast, Kirin**

 **Drop Zone: 1xBattle Sister,Cocoa;1x Battle Sister,Mille-feuille; 1x** **Battle Sister, Chocolat;** **1x** **Battle Sister,Marshmallow;** **1x** **Battle Sister,Mocha;1xPsychic Bird**

* * *

"I lost,but it was fun Shindou-kun!" Kumi and I shake hands as the fight she signs my _**FICA**_ and noticies that the colours of the lines were black.

"Shindou-kun,why is the colour of your FICA different from mine?" Kumi asked me as Tokoha noticed as well.

"Shindou you are a grade 1 already!?" Tokoha asked me with a very shocked expresion on her face.

'Let's hope that Kamui-san doesn't open his big mouth and brags.' I silently asked myself for the impossible.

"Is there something wrong,Tokoha-chan?" Kumi asked to her friend with a curious expression on her face.

"Listen Kumi-chan, normally it would take a month's worth of doing quests in order to move to grade 1,but he did that in a week." Tokoha explained to Kumi who started to realize how abnormal that was.

"You see Tokoha-chan,Ryuga has been doing a lot of quests non-stop since he started to cardfight here. For example,he won a mini vanguard tournament recently at another shop,he even does Rescue Quests, Fighter Hunt Quests." Kamui brags about my exploits.

'There he goes.' I decided to stop him.

"Kamui-san, I already told you to not brag about it!" I was getting embarassed with this kind of praise.

"What are those?" Kumi asks.

"Rescue Quests are like Emergency Quests but the difference is that thoose are only deployed by people that have an actual live emergency and as for Fighter Hunt it is as the name says, the sender requests for us to defeat a specific fighter within a certain period of time or just capture specific targets and thoose normaly are a bit trickier since you don't even know where the target is,even I have a bit of dificulty to track down a certain individual". I said putting Kamui's brags asides as wishing that I had Ibuki's stalking skills.

'I wonder if I can get Stalker-san to teach me how to stalk other people in order to make it easier for me to find hunt targets?' I thought without even realizing that Ibuki sneezed twice in front of Yuuichirou Kanzaki.

(Kanzaki's office in the Unitied Sanctuary Branch)

"Ibuki,did you caught a cold?" Kanzaki asked Ibuki as he kept signing his paperwork.

"No,but for some reason I want to beat up someone right now." Ibuki states as he was almost sure that someone was mocking him.

"This is not better be a sign of weakness for your own good. Weakness is a sin." Kanzaki just says his mojo.

'Bunch of nonsense. Without being weak there will never be room to grow.' Ibuki thinks as he kept wondering why he has been sneezing like that lately.

(Card Capital 2)

"Rescue quests I can understand,but it is not recommeded to people who just started to hunt points Shindou." Tokoha says it to my face.

"It is my choice,so don't be such a spoilsport Anjou." I casually said earning a glare from the green haired girl.

"Hunting other fighters sounds fun! Tokoha-chan,let's do one right now!" Kumi drags Tokoha into this situation.

"Wait Kumi-chan! Stop draging me!" Tokoha's pleads went to the void.

Amused at the sight,I decided to leave since I already had the points and nothing was holding me here now.

"See all of you tomorrow." I just left the store in my bike and called it a day but Tokoha had one more thing to say.

"Shindou! I will be the one to break your streak of victories in this shop!" Tokoha made me a declaration as she continued to be dragged by Kumi.

* * *

 **Chapter 4 Preview:**

 **Turn 4 - Anjou Mamoru and Sports event**

 **Next time Ryuga goes to the Dragon Empire's main building in order to get a chance to fight Anjou Mamoru to get the points that are being offered as a prize if he wins,but a certain slacker also learns that the Gear Chronicle user is there as well. A sports event?**

 **"A chance to get a lot of points?"**

 **"I will definitly,definitly get back at you for this branch chief fufufufufu."**

 **"Now to get my reward Vangarou-kun~."**

 **"Anything is fair like war and love."**

 **"Security cables are for weaklings !"**

* * *

 **QOTC: What did you guys think of this chapter?  
**


	5. Turn 4 - Anjou Mamoru and Sports Event

**Turn 4 : Anjou Mamoru and a friendly event.**

* * *

Another week and half went by since Ibuki made his test to spank me around,but the outcome didn't come as he expected and I eneded up trolling him instead and right now Kamui was bringing me to the Dragon Empire Branch. I didn't want to go there at first,but when he mentioned that there would be a lottery for a chance to cardfight against Anjou Mamoru the current Clan leader of the Kagero Clan and if you managed to get picked and win the fight,you could get a lot of points,so here I am for a cake and by that I'm here for the points.

"This is quite a small stage, simple but perfect for a fun event." I said with some proud in my voice.

"Do you want to come in?" Kamui asked me if I wanted to enter and the answer was obvious.

We entered inside the building and the space was like a pre-historical scene from the past except for the Dragonic Overlord statue and the people over there were quite lively enjoying passing time there chatting,playing Vanguard and all kind of stuff.

"There sure are a lot of people here when they've got an event going on." Kamui stated this as I agreed with him.

We stopped near Anjou Mamoru's poster that was being stared by Tsuneto from the Trinity Dragon.

"What are you lot doing here?" I asked them as Tsuneto made a smirk and looked at me as if I were a moron.

"You don't know about it Shindou? Tsuneto begins to ramble his usual nonsense." It is only natural that a newbie like you wouldn't know abo-"

"A newbie that kicked your ass 17 times a row in fights at the shop without even breaking a sweat." I interrupted him as his head went down at my blunt comment about his series of defeats at my hands.

"You didn't had to be so cruel to him, Ryuga." Kamui had given me a small scolding about not holding back when I made a clear point.

"He was asking for it and you know it." I really didn't held back in my answer.

"Can't deny that." Kamui whispered to himself but I managed to listen what he said.

"I already know about Anjou Mamoru's lottery contest to fight him, but if I win, I will request for him to fight me seriously." I said with a serious expression.

"You will loose to Mamoru-san in a instant, Shindou." Tsuneto laughed at my determination to fight Tokoha's brother without handicaps.

"Wanna get your deck out and settle this?" I was getting annoyed by his attitude and decided to shut him up with a fight. "Unless you're afraid to lose again."

"Today I will beat you for sure Shindou!" Tsuneto once again said that he would defeat me. "Just watch it!"

'Sigh, let's just get this over with.' I thought as I took my deck out of my FICA and changed it to table mode and began the fight that would end with Tsuneto's defeat...again.

(A few turns later)

"Ruin Disposal and Puzir-III attacks your Vanguard (20000)! Legion Attack! With it's skill, I'm adding 2000 power (20000-22000) ! My legion vanguard fired a combined shot at Susanoo and he took the hit that came with a grand explosion as he flew to the air in defeat.

"6 minutes and 18 seconds. That's a new record for defeating Tsuneto, Ryuga." Kamui bragged the short time it took to defeat Tsuneto.

"NOOOOOO! He got me again?!" Tsuneto tried to pull his hair as he lost to me once again and accidently hit Mamoru's poster with his hand and quickly apollogized the poster for my disgust.

"Creepy." I said with some disgust in my voice.

"Who are you calling Mamoru-san 'Creepy', Shindou?!" Tsuneto yelled at me...and I didn't care.

"I was calling 'Creepy' to you for apologizing to a poster." I stated the fact with a neutral look on my face. "It's beyond pity what I am feeling for you right now."

"Stop fighting you two, Ryuga don't forget that the reason why you came here was to sign up for the draw of this event." Kamui reminded me about it as I went to the counter and spoke to a woman who was there and told her that I wanted to enter the draw to fight Mamoru.

"Shindou Ryuga-san, Grade 1. The deck you use is...Gear Chronicle!?" She said out loud suprised about the clan I used...and unfortunately for me a certain slacker in the Vangarou costume who was Oyama Ryutaro in disguise that was surrounded by children turned to my direction.

'Gear Chronicle...' Ryutaro thought to himself as he gained a surge of will to challenge the boy in front of him by the counter. 'Fight...'

"That is the deck everyone's talking about these days! Alright you're signed up. I hope you enjoy the event and good luck in the draw." She handed me my FICA as it showed the number 528 on the screen for the draw.

"There sure are a lot of people participating here. Who am I kidding, there is no way that I will get picked. I better get going to a quest pannel and leave." I decided to leave since I knew that there was no way that I would get picked...what? I suck at this kind of think ok? I do NOT possess crazy luck like Chrono does all the time.

"Wait Ryuga! You can't be sure of that until it happens." Kamui convinced me to stay as I noticed that Vangarou was trying to catch my attention.

"Do you need something?" I asked the mascot of the Vanguard Association and it looked at me with an exited look.

"I hear that you've got a rare deck! How about fightning me!?" He asked with the same excitment that he was showing.

"Noop, pass." I gave him a quick rejection.

"Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?" He started to whine like a child.

"Is this how Vangarou is supposed to act, Kamui-san?" I asked Kamui about Vangarou's act since I'm pretty sure that he isn't supposed to throw a fit when refused.

"Not sure, there is nothing that says that Vangarou acts like a kid in it's character act." Kamui answered me as he was confused as well by Vangarou's behavior.

'I have the feeling that I am forgetting something important, but what?' I thought to myself as I could swear that I was sure to know what this could be and turned to see Anjou Mamoru speaking to some staff members.

"Oh, it's Mamoru-san!" Kamui saw Mamoru as well. "Hey!" Vangarou began to sweat as he seemed to be afraid of Mamoru for some reason.

Mamoru took a notice of Kamui and headed to us as Vangarou started to slip away from the scene very,very slowly unnoticed by Kamui and Mamoru.

"Long time no see Kamui-kun." He greeted Kamui.

"Today's event is yet another sucess as always with you around." Kamui said.

"Well that is a good thing, but..." Mamoru stopped to make a worried expression.

"What's wrong?" Kamui asked him what was wrong.

"You see the brach chief took off again and we needed him most." Mamoru explained to us the situation with a sigh.

"The branch chief who's famous for loving fights?" Kamui talked about the Dragon Empire's branch chief love for fights as a thought suddenly came to my mind at that.

'Now I remember! That guy is the branch manager of Dragon Empire inside the Vangarou costume!' I remembered what happened next as I started to go to where the branch chief was heading and saw him fall off the stairs.

"I can't get up! Help me, kind lad!" He pleaded me for help and with a sigh I got him up.

"Thank you! You're as kind as I thought." He thanked me for helping him. " And to thank you, I'll fight you!"

"That's quite a way to say thanks." I commented as I also helped him climb the stairs until we heard a shout from downstairs.

"Brach chief!" I heard Mamoru's voice who was yelling at the mascot that I just helped.

* * *

Anjou Mamoru's P.O.V

"You sure have it rought, Mamoru-san." Kamui-kun couldn't be anymore right on the spot.

'You can say that again, Kamui-kun.' I thought with another sigh.

"Oh right! I wanted to introduce you to Ryuga...Huh where did he go?" Kamui seemed confused at the lack of presence of someone who was just near to him a few seconds ago.

"Ryuga-kun? You mean Shindou Ryuga-kun ?" I asked, having a feeling that the person who he was about to introduce to me was none other than the user Gear Chronicle Clan who Tokoha had told me about the other day.

"You know him?" He asked me with a curious expression.

"Not personally, but I heard a lot about him from Tokoha." I told him that my little sister had said a lot about him and I liked what I heard from her. "She said that he has an unusual deck."

"That's right...but where did he go? Wha...?!" Kamui-kun asked as he gasped," That Vangarou was really curious about Ryuga's Deck."

"Vangarou did?" I took a closer look at Vangarou. 'Could it be?' and figured it out right away. "Brach chief!" Vangarou turned to me when I said that, meaning that he really is the branch chief. "I knew it was you!"

"Ah! It's Anjou Mamoru! Anjou Mamoru is right over there!" The branch chief started to yell my location to everybody around the premisses as they took a look and saw me and Kamui-kun and quickly surrounded us making it impossible for me to catch up with him.

'Damn you, branch chief!' I swore to myself that he would pay for pulling this stunt on me and Kamui-kun and signed the kid's autographs as he got away with the boy who I had pressumed that it was Shindou Ryuga.

* * *

Shindou Ryuga's P.O.V

"You are so going to get in trouble with Mamoru-san for that stunt just now you know,Dragon Empire's branch chief." I told him the facts and what would happen to him when he gets caught.

"There is no branch chief! It's Vangarou!" He kept insisting that he was not the branch chief who is currently slacking off in order to fight others.

'Anyone with half a brain already knows who you are under that costume Oyama Ryutaro.' I privately thought to myself as we arrived to the fighters area floor.

"Let's fight! Fight..." He fell again to the floor once again.

"Can't you even get up on your own?" I helped him as we went to a fight table that was empty.

"All right let's fight!" We were about to place our decks when a notification went to the FICAs of everyone around us,me included.

'I have a bad feeling about this.' I thought unaware that this was being shared by another person who happened to be here as well.

* * *

Anjou Tokoha's P.O.V

I just arrived from to the Dragon Empire's main building to give a few stuff from mom to Akane-san for helping looking out for my brother and I saw Kamui-san who was tired for some reason and just told me that my big brother was taking shelter in the waiting room.

"Thank you for taking care of my brother, this is from mom." I thanked Akane-san as I gave her the bag that I brought with me.

"Thank you, Tokoha-chan." Akane-san thanked me as I saw my brother seating in front of us who seemed to be exausted for some reason and had a dark aura that made me shiver as his face looked really scary.

"Uhm..." I knew that it was not a good idea to speak to him right now.

 **"I will definitely, definitely get back at you for this branch chief fufufufufu."** He whispered something with a very scary expression on his face, not aware that the branch chief who was with Shindou Ryuga felt a cold in his spine.

"He looks scary." I wondered what made my brother this angry.

"I got it! " He started to tip something in his FICA, then all other FICAs around the building except for those in this room got a notification.

'I have a bad feeling about this.' I couldn't help to think that something weird was going on and that is related to the reason why my brother is looking so scary.

* * *

Shindou Ryuga's P.O.V

'Shit!" I thought to myself when I saw the contents of the emergency quest that was sent by Mamoru in order to catch his superior.

"What's wrong Ryuga-kun, your face has changed all of a sud-" I decided to interrupt him and fast.

"Run, you fool!" I quickly grabbed Vangarou's hand, dragged him and ran with everything that I had to the elevator and closed it as quickly as we went in to another floor before the others around us had a chance to realize what just happened.

"That was close!" I said while catching my breath, "I've never ran so fast in my life."

"What's wrong?" He asked me in confusion as he didn't know what was going on.

"This is what's wrong!" I showed him the Quest in my FICA.

* * *

 **Emergency Quest- Please, catch the Vangarou that is within the premisses of the Dragon Empire Brach and bring him to me.**

 **Sender - Anjou Mamoru**

 **Clan-Kagero**

 **Reward- 400 points**

 **Accept  
**  
 **Cancel  
**

* * *

"That Mamoru! Abusing his authority! Do you want to catch me that badly!?" Ryutaro said with his true voice as he complained how Mamoru had just abused his privileges to create a quest like that.

'Not so different from that damn stalker who abuses his authority as well in order to spy on me.' I thought to myself as Ibuki Kouji sneezed once again.

"That asides, take off that costume while we're here. If you don't your chances of getting away will go down to zero."

"I'm Vangarou and this is no costume!" Ryutaro was still going on with that.

"Do you want Mamoru-san to catch and punish you for the stunt you just pulled on him a few minutes ago? I'm sure that he will love to have words with you right now." I told him as he shuddered at what would Mamoru do when he gets his hand on him.

"Ryuga-kun, turn your back around please!" I turned my back and he took off his costume to reveal a spike-haired man with a pink shirt that had a green jacket above it and he was smiling because he believed that this would be enough to escape.

"We are still not safe even if you took that costume out." I stated as he looked at me in confusion.

"Why?" Ryutaro asks.

"The rest of the staff will recognize you and try to take you to Mamoru-san. It is for the best if we hide in a area that only you know about." I pointed out the reason why taking off that costume wouldn't be enough to get away.

"You are a genius, Ryuga-kun! As a reward let show you a small secret area of this building that only I know." With that he pressed a specific combination of buttons that I quickly memorized that took the elevator to a deeper undergroud area. I saw a room full of Vangarou costumes, a kitchen, bathroom, a bed, a pool, and all kinds of needs that a person would need to survive for an entire month.

'This was all under us and no one ever noticed at all ?" I couldn't help but to wonder how such area was unnoticed for so long despise the fact that someone had to check this area once in a while.

"This is a secret room that I had build without telling anyone in order to hide myself just in case that Mamoru would try to force me to work non-stop and now the time to use this room has come. I have a GIRS room over there, now let's go there and have some fun, Ryuga-kun!" I followed him to the room that had the GIRS system instaled and it wasn't any different from the room where Stalker took me last time.

"Let's fight! Fight! Fight!" Ryutaro and I placed our Decks in the black pillars as the virtual table and cards appeared in front of us.

"Here we go!" I finished doing my redraw as Ryutaro didn't do a redraw.

"Stand Up! Owari No Vanguard!"

"Stand Up,Vanguard!"

"Tick-Tock Dracokid" I declared the name of my starting vanguard as the unit appears behind me this time.

"Harbinger Dracokid" A blue dragon with a brown cape appeared in front of Ryutaro.

( 20 Minutes later)

"It was a good fight Ryuga-kun we should do this again at another time." Ryutaro said as he was pleased that the fight was enjoyable for the both of us and I remembered something.

'Wait a moment,I can still gain from this, and the best part is that the target is right in front of me fufufufu.' I had an evil thought as the branch chief of Dragon Empire was expressing his satisfaction.

"I agree with you,but before that happens,we must settle some scores don't we Vangarou?" I asked him as letting out my intentions to him,but he didn't seem to caught up to my intention yet.

"Huh? What are you talking about? The fight is already over." Ryutaro said in confusion as I decided to bring the cake to the party.

'If it wasn't obvious the cake is Vangarou and the party is Anjou Mamoru.' I wondered myself why I gave out that thought just now.

"Now to get my reward Vangarou-kun~." I said with a smile as I cracked my knuckles and started to walk torwards Ryutaro's direction.

"Wait,what are you planning to do? Kyaaaaaahhhhhh!" That was the moment that Ryu- I mean Vangarou entered in a world of pain.

* * *

Anjou Tokoha's P.O.V

"Stride Generation! Root Flare Dragon finish this!" My brother strided Root Flare Dragon and won the cardfight.

'Amazing. He was handicapped,but still won.' I couldn't help but to think that surpassing him would be impossible for me.

"Anjou Mamoru is really strong. You woudn't know he's been handicapped!" Akane-san said to the watchers as my brother and Tsuneto started to shake hands.

"As expected from my big brother." I said as my big brother just defeated Tsuneto from Trinity Dragon and right now he was shaking hands with him. We were about to leave when Shindou had arrived to the scene with Vangarou who was being dragged by him all tied up.

"Is the event already over?" Shindou asked to nobody in specific as Vangarou looked at my big brother and tried to run off but the ropes were preventing him from escaping.

'What is Shindou doing here with Vangarou and why is he tied up?' I wondered to myself as Shindou kept dragging Vangarou torwards our direction.

"Please don't do this Ryuga-kun!" Vangarou pleaded to Shindou as he began to struggle harder but still couldn't escape his grasp.

"Sorry for taking so long to capture Vangarou,but he just wouldn't come on his own even after our fight was over." Shindou explained why he missed the event and his big chance to fight my big brother.

"Shindou. I got the chance that you wasted and it was all worth it." Tsuneto bragged to Shindou.

"I bet that you lost miserably even with some kind of handicap." Shindou said in a monotone voice that destroyed Tsuneto's mood as the later felt into a small depression.

'He really doesn't know how to hold back doesn't he?" I asked to myself as Shindou reached us with Vangarou shivering in fear when he looked at my brother.

"What are you doing with Vangarou,Shindou?" I asked Shindou why he was dragging Vangarou to the stage.

"Oh,you mean the branch chief of this place? It was your brother who placed an emergency quest to find and bring him Vangarou,so after I finished our fight,he didn't want to cooperate with me,so I kind of 'assisted' him." Shindou finishes his explanation as he arrived with the tied up mascot to the stage were we are.

'So that's how it was,this must have been the reason why Mamoru was so scary earlier.' I am feeling some pity for Vangarou right now.

"He is lying! After our fight ended he beated me up and placed me back into this costume!" The branc-,I mean Vangarou complained about Shindou's behavior as my bother seemed to have found a treasure that felt from heaven as he looked at Vangarou.

"So there you are branch chief,kukukukuku." He had a very scary face right now as his body was surrounded by the flames of his wrath.

'Scary. I'm glad that it isn't me who is going to recieve the end of his wrath.' Ryuga thought to himself as he almost felt bad for Vangarou.

"I am sorry,Mamoru-kyun~." Vangarou says to Mamoru as he knew that his fate was sealed.

"We will have a discussion about misbehaving later,Vangarou-kun." Mamoru said to Vangarou as he didn't want to cause any commotion in public and ordered the staff to bring Vangarou back to the building.

"If he escapes again,please send me another emergency quest for me only,I will gladly hunt him down right Vangarou-kun?" Shindou said with a smile on his face to my brother as Vangarou shivered in fear as he was dragged by the staff.

"Let's fight again Ryuga-kun." Vangarou had the last word as he was dragged inside the building.

(20 Minutes later...)

"Nice to meet you,I'm Anjou Mamoru,my little sister has told me a lot about you." My brother introduced himself to Shindou.

"You mean the obnoxious green-haired big yeller girl know as Anjou Tokoha?" Shindou said to my brother and he laughed at that for my embarassment.

"Who are you calling 'obnoxious' and 'big yeller' Shindou?" I was really mad at Shindou for embarassing me in front of my big brother.

"Who else am I talking about?" He asked me with a grin on his face and I glared at him in response.

"There is no need to fight you two." My brother scolded us a bit as Shindou narrowed his eyes.

"Asides from that,it seems that you were dragged all over the place by our branch chief,so I'm sorry for the trouble that he caused you." My brother apologized Shindou for his superior's childish behavior," And I still need to give you the points for the Vangarou quest." My brother told Shindou as he signed his FICA granting him the points of the quest that were promissed.

"Don't worry about it, I already punished him for what he did." Shindou quickly dismisses the talk as he was pleased for getting the points.

"But is the Dragon Empire really alright with a guy like that in charge?" Kamui-san asked my brother who seemed to be used to that question.

" He can be reliable when the time comes. He is also a first class fighter,so there are no problems." He reasures Kamui that the Dragon Empire is alright in Ryutaro's hands.

"I see. So with that guy,a miracle is required in order to actually make him work huh? But I will admit that he is quite strong." Shindou just stated the brutal truth with no hints of holding back.

"He's the narukami's clan leader after all." Mamoru replied to Shindou.

"A clan leader just like you,but he is definitely stronger than you Mamoru-san." Shindou doesn't hold back once again.

"Shindou don't be rude to my brother!" I yelled at him.

"It's alright Tokoha,all he did was say the truth." My brother reasured that it was fine as he continued to talk,"But someday I want to go against him in a serious fight."

"Come to think of it,you use an unusual deck,right,Ryuga-kun?" It was obvious what my brother was trying to do here,"How about fighting me? I don't mind fighting with a handicap of starting with 3 cards in my hand." I was about to protest when Shindou said something that neither of us were expecting.

"I apreciate it the fact that you went all out like that Mamoru-san,but no thanks." Shindou rejected my brother's proposal to our surprises, "There is no point to fight you if there is some kind of handicap and those are just an insult to a real fighter. Not to mention the fact that I won't gain anything from that since the event with you that gave points if I won is already over and I already fought your irresponsible boss,so see you at another time." With that Shindou went off with Kamui-san.

"It seems like you made an interesting friend Tokoha. It is a shame that I didn't get to fight him." Mamoru-niisan said to me with a small frown in his face.

' Branch Chief. You are so going to pay for this.' Mamoru thought as Ryutaro had a very bad premonition and from who it was coming from.

"Did you really wanted to fight Shindou that much? He isn't that worthy of you in my opinion." I told him as I believe that he would made a fried chicken out of Shindou.

"That is not true, he is really strong,I can tell by looking at him." My brother told me as we kept looking at the direction where Shindou and Kamui-san left.

"If you say so." I replied.

Anjou Mamoru's P.O.V

Oyama Ryutaro was pleased that the risk that he took,plus the punishment that came from the 14 Year boy was all worth the pain that he was currently feeling due to the beat up handed by Shindou Ryuga.

"I just had the best time out there today,asides from the bruises that I recieved from him,the fight was worth it." Ryutaro said as he was looking at his card instead of doing the paperwork.

"Branch chief! Get back to work!" I with a tick in my face yelled at Ryutaro to get him back to work as he was goofing off again.

"Ah! You are just jealous and mad that I got to fight Gear Chronicle and you were rejected by him when you gave him that offer aren't you?" Ryutaro teasingly asked me and the I was not pleased by his remark.

"Say another word about that and I will tie you up with chains to that table during an extra month adding to the one that you will be starting out with tomorrow!" I threatned him with promissed pain if another word about that rejection was said or mentioned.

"No! Not that! I am working, I am working!" The branch chief began to work seriously at that.

Shindou Ryuga's P.O.V

(1 Week later)

(School)

I was currently cleaning the window of a classroom that was outside as it was shining after I was done with it,but then a contester had shown up.

"It seems that only one of us can finish cleaning this windows." Shion wasn't even trying to hide his intent to challenge me.

"Let's see who can clean first then." With that we started to clean the windows around us at a faster pace and finished at the same time,but unlike me,Shion was trying to catch his breath as I smirked at him.

"Tired already?" I asked him keeping my smirk.

"Not a chance." Shion quickly recovered as I got the reply.

"That was fast." Tokoha commented as she saw mine and Shion's work.

"You two are friends,huh?" Kumi asked to us as Tokoha seemed to understand that was not the case.

"I don't think that is the case Kumi-chan." The green-haired girl replied to her.

"I was thinking that it was more than time to get a rematch against you." Shion states that he wants a rematch against me.

"Wanna loose again? In that case we will settle this at Card Capital 2 this afternoon." I accepted his challenge when Tokoha decided to interrupt us.

"If it's a showdown you want,check this out." Tokoha showed us a paper that had **'Dragon Empire Branch Quiz Tournament'** written in it.

"A Vanguard Quiz Tournament?" I asked to no one in particular as Tokoha continued her explanation as she wanted us both to enter.

"In fact,I will just sign you up, okay?" Tokoha asked if she could rope me and Shion into this in a formal matter regardless if we accepted or not.

"Not interested! I want to cardfight,so I will have to refuse that invitation." I politely refused her atempt to rope me into the event and it seems that she was expecting this.

"Are you sure of that Shindou? The winner of the quiz is given a lot of points if he/she wins the event." Tokoha told me with a small grin in her face as I became curious of the amount of points that were going to be awarded to the winner.

"How much are we talking here?" I asked her and she went to my hear and muttered the amount that was going to be won,my eyes widened at that.

"Really! Count me in."Tokoha managed to tempt me with an offer of points that I couldn't refuse as she made a victory sign.

'Damn,she got me really good.' I think to myself as Tokoha and Kumi began to leave.

"I can't wait,you know,Tokoha-chan?" Kumi said to Tokoha that she was really looking forwards to this.

"You are only in this for the points,not for our showdown?" Shion asked.

"Yup, unlike the two of you,I am still a grade 1 and in order to enter the bigger events I must be at least Grade 3 and as people usually say,time is money, so I only fight battles that are possible to win,otherwise what is the point of even fighting them?" I answered Shion as I left to clean another place.

'Not to mention the fact that the points to be given to the winner will make me grade 2 in the process.' I thought to myself as wondering how could I get points in a faster way other than doing the usual quests.

(Next Sunday...at the Dragon Empire)

I placed my #9 orange vest when someone called my name,"Yo,Ryuga!" I looked up to see Kamui which for some reason didn't surprised me at all.

"What are you doing here Kamui-san?" I asked him confused by the fact that he seems to be involved in almost every event that takes place.

"I was invited to be a special commentator by the Dragon Empire's branch chief and couldn't refuse it." He replied as I sighed in thought.

'He is going overboard with his brags here isn't he?' I guessed that was going to be the case as Kamui kept talking as Vangarou passed us.

"Is that the branch chief slacking off again?" I asked Kamui as he seemed to be thinking the same as me.

"Not sure, I will take that he's actually doing his job in the office today" Kamui answered me as the real branch chief that was tied to the table in chains sneezed at that comment and said that he wanted to fight instead of doing his paperwork.

"Hi." We were greeted by Shion that was wearing the #4 orange vest.

"Oh, you're taking part of this as well Shion?" Kamui asked Shion as he nooded in response.

"Yes Kamui-san." He answered Kamui and turned to me,"Let's both do our best today Shindou." Shion wished luck for both of us.

"Yeah,but I'm the one who will win in the end." I said to Shion with a smirk.

"That's some confidence, but I'm still going to win." Shion made his statement as we kept staring at each other.

"The tension is in the air!" Kamui said to no one in particular.

A few minutes later all of us gathered in the main hall and heard the rules of this quiz tournament from the announcer and Vangarou who I still think that is the branch chief of Dragon Empire trying to slip away to fight other people and slack off. As for us,we were divided into 4 blocks:A,B,C and D with me and Shion ending up in the same block and for my annoyance his fangirls were here as well.

'At least the hag isn't here.' I thought to myself as the quiz was about to begin.

* * *

(Block A's Side)

"Okay,your question is...which card you're about to see on this screen?" The person in charge of the current challenge asked us the question,"All right here we Vanguardun!" At that a image that showed King of Knights Alfred's horse's leg had appeared on the screen and I pressed right away before Shion had a chance to figure it out as the critical trigger icon popped up from my quiz hat.

"Number 9!",My number got announced,"King of Knights, Alfred!",I replied as fast as the announcement ended.

"That's correct! King of Knights, Alfred!" The card's image had showed up in full as I got points for answering right for Shion's frustration as I did the same with the next one.

"Perdition Emperor Dragon,Dragonic Overlord the Great!" I answered correctly once again as I kept doing the same for the remaining questions as I was faster than Shion at pressing the button.

(A few questions later...)

"Oh my! He is right once again!" I answered correctly to the disapointment of Shion's fangirls that were looking to see Shion getting all questions correct instead of me.

"Shindou is in the lead? Nice going Shindou!" Tokoha cheered up for me from the distance.

'Shion may be fast,but he still has a long way to go before reaching me.' I think to myself as the victory for this one was already in the bag as Shion once again failed to outspeed me in pressing the buzz.

Meanwhile Kamui just spouted a bunch of nonsense when another commentator asked his opinion about my fast and precise answers to the questions from Block A.

"Shindou Ryuga from Block A has won all points. He answered all questions correctly!Let's have a word with him Vangarou-kun!" The commentator asked the real Vangarou to interview me.

"Are you the branch chief slacking off in his job again to cardfight others?" I had to ask. Meanwhile the real Ryutaro sneezed while he was doing his job for real.

"No. I am Vangarou-kun" The mascot replied to me as I believed in him,otherwise he would have challenged me for a cardfight and start whinning like a child.

"What are you thinking of this quiz tournament Shindou-kun?" The real Vangarou asked for my opinion of this tournament.

"It's really interesting event,but right now I want to win and have fun while I'm at it!" I said full of spirit.

"Wow,Shindou-kun,you seen to be ready for this." Vangarou says that to me as Shion had a look that was telling me that he wouldn't give up.

"To be honest,at first I was not interested in entering this event but now I have the full intention to win this thing!" I yelled out loud,then Vangarou sended me off.

"For the Secon-" I didn't bother to hear the rest as it was obvious what this task consisted of doing...picking objects. Most of the items that I got to collect were either cards from other people who had them while disgised as the specific unit or carrying a lot of heavy objects.

'I'm really feeling jealous of Kiba for not dealing with this right now.' I felt jealous of Shion as I carried another two iron pillars in my arms as someone else shared simillar thoughts.

'I'm really feeling jealous of Shindou for not dealing with this right now.' Shion thought to himself as the girls in front of him were fighting to decide who would borrow him the item that he was needing.

I got all items before the rest of the competition had finished getting theirs as I won once again as Shion was still getting the requested items from his fangirls.

'Now that is what I call easy life.' I thought as one of the girls had knocked down a brown-haired boy by accident and Shion went to help him right away.

I followed them and overheard everything that they said in their little exchange of words and went back to the stage.

"The following contestants who have passed to the final round are the following people. In 1st place we have Shindou Ryuga, in 2nd place we have Okazaki Kumi, 3rd place we have Kiba Shion,in 4th-" I didn't paied any mind to the remaining names as they were irrelevant to me and I was aproached by Shion.

"You were listenning,weren't you? Shion asked me knowing the answer very well.

"So what of it?" I asked with some indiference as I kept looking forwards.

"I'll definetely not forgive you if you don't take this seriously." He told me as I kept my stance. The moment for the final challenge had come.

* * *

 **Question!**

 **Can you STRIDE when a player's Vanguard is at grade 3?**

 **True or False, O or X ?**

* * *

'Tell me this is a joke? Anyone here can answer that...wait,perhaps there might be a way to take advantage of this.' I thought while making an evil grin as the obstacle course was shown to us. The first one consisted on jumping the swaying suspension bridge where the other contestants except for Shion and I were having trouble with this as we cleared this course with ease. The second challenge was to cross a Mud pond where they were fllorpads for us to jump on them.

'There is no way that I will jump to that giant boobytrap...of course that can work as well.' Shion and I waited as the others jumped to the floorpads recklessly. A few managed to jump just to fall to the mud in the end and couldn't get out of the pond and in order to get help from outside,you must give up.

Kiba Shion's P.O.V

I watched as most of the people who went on ahead felt into the mud trap and my rival who just like me was waiting for an clear path to show itself.

"Aren't you going in as well?" I asked him as he was still waiting for something to happen like me.

"And fall into that giant deathtrap? Only a fool would rush into that thing without any thought." Shindou said that as I silentely agreed with him.

A few minutes later I managed to get a clear path without traps, 'There! I see a path.' I think to myself as I started to jump on the right floorpads that was until I had a small accident.

"Out of my way!" I had the misfortune that Tsuneto jumped to the same pad at the same time as me and we crashed against each other and felt to the mud pond.

"Now that the targets are all here,let's start my jumping couse." I heard Shindou saying those words as what he did next shocked me as well as the other who were watching. He instead of jumping on the floorpads,he jumped on the other contestants as they drowned down a bit further in the mud.

'Is he for real? ' Tokoha,Mamoru and Kamui thought with their mouths slightly opened as Ryuga kept his jumping course.

"That is playing dirty! Ryuga,follow the normal procedures instead steping on others!" Kamui complained as his comment meant nothing to the red-haired swirl boy.

"Anything is fair like war and love." Shindou said as he continued to step on the other contestants,drowning them even further in the mud as he reached the end of the path as he jumped and he quickly reached the end.

'That was dirty,but the effectiveness cannot be denied.' I couldn't help but praise his plan to let others become a path for him even if it was despicable.

"Do something like that again and you are disqualified!" Kamui made another useless comment as Shindou just whistles in response making smoke coming out of his ears.

"They tecnically were living floorpads as far I'm concerned." Shindou said without any care for what happened just now.

"Do you need help?" One of the staff members asked me if I wanted to retire from the competition.

"No. I will win!" I managed to drag my body throught the mud and managed to clear the obstacle leaving myself covered in mud.

"Security cables are for weaklings !" I heard Shindou complaining to a staff member who was trying to put the safety gear on him.

I allowed another staff member to put the gear on me as I started to climb the wall as I saw a few people falling down from above.

"Are you trying to get in my way on purpose?" I heard him from above as I continued to climb the wall.

Shindou Ryuga's P.O.V

"Are you trying to get in my way on purpose?" I asked the staff member who didn't want me to climb without the safety gear and had been stalling me for the last 5 minutes.

"You need to wear this,or there is no climbing." The stubborn mulle told me as I could swear that he was enjoying this.

'So, he didn't like what I did earlier and this is payback? In that case... I will teach him to not mess with me!' I decided to wrap this up and quick before Shion wins this race.

"I will apologize in advance for what I am about to do." I said to him,"What are you tal-" he didn't get to finish as I punched his gut and knocked him out to the ground.

"Now time to climb." I began to climb the wall without the safety gear with quite ease,saw a few others falling down as I ignored their loud screams and quickly managed to caught up with Shion and when he saw me he started to climb faster as well,but when I got to the top a few seconds before him,his foot slipped a support stone and began to fall.

'Oh well, I should be a better sport and help him out before I get disqualified for punching that staff member.' I decided to grab his wrist and he was not pleased that I had helped him.

"Let me go! I don't need your pity!" He yelled at me to let him fall.

Kiba Shion's P.O.V

I was about to fall when Shindou who managed to climb to the top extended his arm and grabbed my wrist.

"Let me go! I don't need your pity!" I yelled at him who in response kept holding my wrist with his hand.

"Like hell I will ! This for my self satisfaction and you don't have any say in it!" He yelled in response as he pulled me up to the same place where he was.

"I won't thank you for this." I told him as I caught my breath.

"Shut up. Let's just finish our showdown with this race when one of us reaches the correct answer's goal." Shindou told me that we still needed to settle our challenge.

"Fine. At the count of 3?" I asked him and he nooded his head as the response.

"Everyone! Count from 3 to Start!" We both shouted at the same time as the viewers started a count down.

"3..2...1...Start!" We started to sprint when 'Start' was yelled,Shindou was a few metters in ahead of me as I kept running faster.

"I will win!" I said as I managed to get ahead of Shindou a bit,but it didn't last as he managed to surpass me and headed straight to the O sign.

'Come on Shion! You can win!' I thought to myself as I managed to get on even ground with Shindou and when we were about to reach the goal,Shindou jumped a bit back and stopped.

"What?" It was all I could ask as I reached the goal,but instead of winning, I felt to a small mud pond.

"You were so focused in winning that you have forgotten the true goal of this race,Kiba." Shindou told me as he went to the oposite direction and entered the X sign and when he did he fell to a small pool of balls with a 'Congratulations' sign in the wall.

"The winner is Shindou Ryuuga!" Vangarou shout the name of the winner of the quiz tournament.

"How?" I didn't get how Shindou got the question right.

"The question had a small trick to it. You see the question ' **Can you STRIDE when a player's Vanguard is at grade 3?** ' only referred to 1 player's grade 3 not **both** of them and the STRIDE is only released when both player's vanguards are at grade 3 and that was the trick of this question. If you had been more focussed on the goal instead of trying to get ahead of me you could have won." Shindou explained to me why I lost to him.

'It really was like that then,I should have noticed instead of trying to compete with him and that was my mistake.' I thought as he gave me a hand,I took it and stood up from the mud ,"Congratulations Shindou but how did you know the answer?" I asked him as he quickly decided to reply.

"Once I had a quest where I had to give a class to a bunch of kids of how to Stride and Legion due to their popularity nowadays." He explained the quest where he teached some kids of how to use the most popular mecanics of the game.

"As promissed you get all these points." Vangarou placed Shindou's FICA in a machine where the points that were promissed as the prize for the winner were charged into his FICA and the colors went from black to brown.

"I did it! I reached Grade 2! One more to go!" Shindou got to grade 2 with the points of this tournament.

(A few minutes after the Quiz Tournament was over)

After the ceremony awards I found myself in front of the child who I had prossimed that I would have won, and I failed to keep it.

"Sorry, I didn't managed to win as I promissed you earlier." I said with a small frown in my face,but his reaction wasn't what I was expecting.

"That doesn't matter oni-chan." The kid didn't seemed to mind about the fact that I lost in the end," I learned from watching you and the headsteaper that it isn't about winning or loosing! You were cool because you refused to give up despite the odds being against you. It was really fun seeing you two competing like that!" he said with a gleam on his face.

"Thank you." I thanked him as we were unaware that Shindou Ryuga was listenning to us behind a tree.

"From now on,I'm never going to give up either, but do my best!"

"Good." I replied.

'I won the showdown,but you won the the kid's respect for never giving job rich boy.' Ryuga thought as he left the scene.

* * *

 **Chapter 5 Preview:**

 **Turn 5 - Underworld King.**

 **Ryuga in order to get points to reach the next grade at a faster rate,he decides to take a part of a shady series of quests,but a certain pair of meddlesome people who happened to follow him are caught in a jam.**

 **"I won,so get the Underworld King here so that we can get this over with."**

 **"How did you both get caught in the first place?"**

 **"You better win this Shindou or you will have to take responsibility for this!"  
**

* * *

 **For this chapter I decided to skip the cardfight as I have a far more interesting one planned out for the next Turn,so I hope that you enjoyed reading this chapter.**


	6. Turn 5 - Underworld king

**Turn 5 - Underworld king  
**

* * *

I was returning from a quest that I went with Kumi-chan that consisted on a tag fight mini-tournament that we entered in order to help Kumi-chan learn the rules of a tag fight and managed to win the mini-tournament and right now we were going to a place to eat to celebrate our victory, that was until we noticed a very familliar person who had a red swirly hair entering an alley.

"Is that Shindou-kun?" Kumi-chan said as I also saw him entering that alley as we haven't seen him at the shop for the last two weeks or taking on quests. Even Kamui-san believed that something had happened to him,but I didn't paid any mind to it since I saw him coming to school during that time.

'I wonder what was is he up to lately,first he stops fighting at the shop and now he is going into alleys?' I thought about Shindou's suspicious behavior and the place he was going as a new adventure for both of us, 'There is only one way to find out, follow him!'

"Let's follow him Kumi-chan!" With that we entered the alley as well while being curious of why he suddenly stopped taking quests at Card Capital 2 and entered such a place.

(Suspicious Alley)

We kept following him and saw a few people who had unpleasant expressions on their faces as we went deeper and saw a group of suspicious people gathared around a spot and we saw Shindou standing in front of a person who looked like a gangster that had a yellow mohawk.

"What is he doing in such a suspicious place with this kind of people,Tokoha-chan?" Kumi-chan asked me as I wondered the same.

"Good question,let's take a closer look." We aproached them a bit and saw a fight table that was built by joining their FICAs in table mode.

"Let's do this!" The gangster appeared to throw a punch,but he was just placing his deck on the table as Shindou placed his deck as well.

"Vanguard? Why are they fighting here?" I asked to nobody in particular as they finished shuffling their decks.

"If I win your Gear Chronicle deck is coming home with me." The gangster said that to Shindou as he didn't appeared to be intimidated by a second.

'Did Shindou made some bet again?!' I was mad at Shindou for betting his deck again.

"That is if you manage to win,which I doubt that you will do." Shindou replied with a bored tone as he redid his draw, "But there is only way for us to know."

"Stand Up! Owari No Vanguard!" Shindou shouted.

"Stand Up! Vanguard!" The gangster shouted as well.

When they started the fight,the gangster instead of drawing a card from the top of the deck,he the one on the bottom of it.

"Is he cheating?!" I said with some shock as I never saw someone cheating at Vanguard before.

"Why did he break the rules of Vanguard?" Kumi-chan was shocked as well.

"Don't you two know that there are not rules in these underground fights ?" A person right next to Kumi-chan said to us.

'What? So this a Underground Fight,wait aren't those illegal ? And why is the swirl-head taking part of it?' Shindou sneezed.

"Tokoha-chan,why would Shindou-kun participate in this kind of fight?" Kumi-chan asked me.

"I have no idea Kumi-chan,we will have to ask Shindou about it later after their fight is over." I said to her as I would demand answers from Shindou later.

"I wonder which one I will go with first?" He took a card from his backpocket and swap it with a card in his hand," Of course,this one Ride!"

'He didn't even bother to hide it! And what's with that shameless act?' I thought as the gangster rode a Amon unit.

'If he was going to cheat,at least drop that shameless act,you're not fooling anyone here.' Ryuga thought as the ganster continued his move.

'Why is Shindou allowing him to do this?' I thought as they continued the fight. The gangster did the same a few more times during the match,but Shindou reacted with precisive moves that quickly turned the game around.

'Time to put an end to this idiot.' Ryuga decided to finish that clown right away.

"It's over! Finish him Chronojet Dragon! " Shindou said that as Chronojet Dragon flew and punched 'Amon's Leader,Astaroth' putting it out of comission and the fighter was thrown back as his cards flew into the air with him.

"No way,he lost that easily?! He was only second to the King." One of the spectators commented about the fact that Shindou crushed that guy with a ridiculous ease.

"You stacked your deck and made a card switch from your pocket a few times and yet you still lost to me,pathetic." Shindou said that to the person who he crushed just now and said person glared at him in response, "I won,so get the Underworld King here so that we can get this over with."

'He noticed all of that,allowed it and still beat the guy? Show off!' I sighed at his showing off act.

"You want to have an audience with the king?" He asked Shindou who nooded his head in response and showed him his FICA,that had a quest written on it,but I couldn't see what it was written there due to the distance we were apart from each other, " Why else would have I challenged you with my deck on the line?"

"The Underworld King?" I whispered to myself as I wondered who he was.

"I believe that winning against you,his second in command,was the main condition to fight him or was I wrong?" Shindou asked.

"Oh I will grant you an audience all right,but it will be with our fists,right boys?" Shindou was quickly surrounded by a crowd of seven shady people, the gangster included.

"I'd say we steal his deck and show this punk who's boss around here!" The people who had Shindou surrounded cracked their fists and I decided to help him out of this situation.

'This again? Bring your worst fools!' Ryuga thought as he wasn't aware that Tokoha and Kumi were there as well.

"Hold it right there!" I shouted at them as Kumi-chan and I aproached them.

"Anjou,Okazaki why are you here?!" Shindou who was surprised at our arrival said our names as we got closer to them.

"We will explain later,Shindou-kun." Kumi-chan said that he would get whatever answers he needs from us once we are out of here.

"Who are you,his girlfriend?" The gangster asked if I was his girlfriend and it ticked me off.

"We won't allow you to go any further into this! And I am not his girlfriend!" I declared loudly as everyone around me was looking at me with raised eyebrows except for Kumi-chan and Shindou who was still wondering why we were here.

"And what does have to do with me?" The gangster asked and I aproached him with a smirk.

"I wouldn't want to mess with that guy if I were you,he is seriously dangerous and known for beating up other people." I told the gangster that and all of a sudden one of the people around us came to realize who they were about to mess with.

"Wait a second I recognize that guy! He is that Shindou Ryuga! There are a lot of rumours of how that guy beats other thugs until they almost bleed to death by himself! We might share the same fate if we are stupid enought to mess with a guy like that!" They whispered amongs each other to ponder what should they do as we took a chance and I grabbed Shindou's arm by linking it with mine and quickly dragged him outside with us.

'What the hell just happened?' Ryuga thought to himself as he kept looking at the thugs as he was dragged by Tokoha.

(Outside the Alley)

"Anjou,Okazaki were you two doing there?" Shindou asked us why we were there.

"We saw you going inside that alley and followed you were you even there in the first place?!" I questioned him as he was pondering something,then he decided to answer.

"I was doing an Under Quest." It was his reply as my face became pale by what he said just now.

"Tokoha-chan,what is a 'Under Quest'?" Kumi-chan asked me worriedly when she saw my face.

"I heard about those,but I didn't believe that they were real." I was still shocked that those off-the-books quests actually existed in this country,"Kumi-chan the Under Quests are illegal types of quests that can only be carried out by fighters whoose ages are 18 and above. If they fail to complete one under a certain period of time they will loose all points they have and hand over their Deck to the one who defeated the challenger, in other words,if you were to loose there and loose your Deck as a result from taking part of those kind of quests, the Vanguard Association wouldn't care an less if you're a minor who ended up caught in this gathering place of scums and they will overlook anything that was done in the middle of it."

"Tecnically thoose can be entered by anyone,Anjou." He told me without a single care of the risks that those quests involved,"The Association wouldn't care about such things one way or another once you decide to take a part of a Under Quest."

"Why are you involved in those if they are these dangerous Shindou-kun?" Kumi-chan asked with some worry in her voice.

Shindou showed us his FICA that had the following quest written on it.

* * *

 **Under Quest - Bring the Underworld King to his knees at his lair.** **Can only be signed by the Underworld King.**

 **Clan- Unknown**

 **Reward- 1000 points**

 **Accept**

 **Cancel**

 **WARNING - If you are to Accept then fail to complete this quest,you will loose all points that you currently have and if you do, your grade will go down to 0.**

 **From VG Association - Any loses that involves a fighter's deck and points will not be our responsibility,so be aware that you will be on your own for the duration of this quest.**

 **An Important message from the Sponsor -** **Weakness is a sin.  
**

* * *

"I have been taking part on these shady quests for the last two weeks in order to reach grade 3 two months before the regional tournament because I would still need to find people to team up with me and prepare for the event." Shindou explained how he planned on taking the regionals for the first time.

"Those quests are illegal,you should stop doing them Shindou,please. You were in danger just now." I worriedly asked him to stop otherwise he could get himself into a real jam and not even my brother could do anything about it.

"You don't worry I could have deal with them. In fact,you're the ones who saved them from being fried to the ground." Shindou told me as I didn't believed in him at all.

"How did you come across the Under Quests,Shindou-kun?" Kumi-chan just asked the most important quesion of them all.

'That's right,how did he came across those when I don't even know where to search and I've been at Vanguard way longer than he was.' I thought with a frown as it was a miracle the fact that Shindou always manages to find new ways to get himself into trouble.

"Don't you girls use the internet to search on subjects related to Vanguard?" He asked us with a raised eyebrow as he continued to explain how he came across those illegal quests ,"Anyways, I was trying to find a way to track higher giving point quests on the net when I came across a suspicious webpage that described about them to the last detail. I became curious and decided to do a few of them,they went well and now here I am." He showed us a few of them that were already completed.

"Weren't a few of them very dangerous,Shindou-kun." Kumi-chan asked Shindou as she and I saw that two of those quests involved fighting a high paying betting house as someone else's representative.

"I won't do the ones that might risk my life,so don't worry to much about it,Okazaki." He told Kumi-chan to not worry,butI was still worried though.

"Can you promise us that you will stop doing those quests once this one is over?" I asked him to stop when that one is completed.

"I will try,but no promises until I'm grade 3." He said that to me as I sighed," Either way,the Underwold King will show himself to me sooner or later after learning that I have beaten his subbordinate and the fact the I have Gear Chronicle at stake. So the bait is perfect and there is no way that he will refuse to fight me." Shindou took a quick look at the alley that we just left.

"Is there something wrong?" I asked him and he nooded his head and aproached us.

"It seems that someone is watching us,take a quick glance behind." We looked behind to see someone who went back into the alley when he noticed that we were aware of him.

"You two should be carefull." He gave us a warning, "There are a few people like that who have grudges against me and seeing you with me might put you in trouble."

"Ok,I will take your word for now,let's go Kumi-chan." We parted ways with Shindou and a few minutes later three people appeared in the alley's entrance.

"That was Shindou Ryuga wasn't he?" One of the people said.

"The girls that were with him are quite cute." The second one said.

"And it looks like the damn brat wants to see our new boss,we can't waste a chance like this." The last one said as they went to another place.

* * *

(Underworld King's Hiddeout)

At another Alley,the gangster who lost to Shindou Ryuga was being questioned by a teenager who wasn't older than 17 that had a purple spiked hair, two red-eyes, a dark brown leather arm coat and white jeans who was not pleased by his subbordinate's failure.

"Let me get this straight,you suffered a miserable loss to a kid who is still a grade 2?" The teenager asked to the gangster who was shaking in fear.

"King,the guy who beat me was too strong for me to handle,he may be even stronger than you."He said as he got his neck grabbed as a result of questioning the boss.

"Care to repeat that?" He asked the gangster who shooked his head in fear as he strenghtned his grip a bit.

"Forgive me,please!"The gangster pleaded for the teenager to forgive him as he was slowly running out of air.

"Normally I would kick you out of my turf,but is it true that the guy who crushed you was really the one with Gear Chronicle?" The teenager asked this to his almost about to the kicked out subbordinate.

"No mistake sir, it really was the unusual deck that everyone is talking about." He said as his boss released the hold on his neck and allowed him to breath and felt in relief.

"Interesting,it has been a while since anyone worthy appeared before me." He had a pleasant look in his face," I will give you a chance to redeem yourself,all you have to do is to bring the guy to me and that's it."

"Wasn't he taken from you by two girls?" Three people appeared from the shadows, and each one of them looked like a real life thug.

"Shouldn't we go to find and use them as hostages to bring him out?" He looked at three of his most indisciplinated subbordinates who made that proposal.

"You three seem to be looking forwards this,may I ask why?" He wondered why would those incompetent people show the iniciative when all they do is make a mess out of every deal that involves them.

"We have some past with that Gear Chronicle user and this is our chance to take revenge on that brat." One of them said.

"I see,but don't over do it. Even if the Association will overlook what happens to the boy,the girls are another story since they have nothing to do with the Under Quest and I do not wish to deal with the dogs from the VG Association if anything happens,understood?" He made it clear that they couldn't harm the girls,otherwise they're were in for a punishment.

"Understood sir!" They said so,but Daisuke had his doubts about these three as they left to do their 'mission'.

"Sir,I don't mean to sound rude but,is it a good idea to trust those three?"The gangster let out his doubt about those three." They're nothing but trouble and I had a very bad feeling about them since we've met and nobody here likes them."

"True,those three are not worth to keep around and I heard a lot of complains from my partners about them,but this will be their last chance,if they go to far I will kick them out myself by the end of the day."

* * *

(Street)

(Later)

Kumi-chan and I were walking in the streets as we talked about a lot of different things until Shindou's current actions came as a topic and it wasn't pleasing to know that a classmate of ours was .

"I don't think that Shindou-kun should still be involved with this quest." Kumi-chan said.

"Perhaps we should talk to my big brother about this and see if he can do something about it." I talked about getting my brother involved to he if he could cancel the quest that Shindou was taking when three people who looked like thugs stopped in front of us.

"The king wants to see you two." One of the thugs said to us,"We also heard that you two were friends of Shindou Ryuga is that right?"

"Not exactly,but how do you know Shindou?" I asked them as their faces became annoyed when I mentioned Shindou.

"Let's say that last year we had a encounter against a brat that we thought that was weak and harmless. We mocked his hair and smoked in his face." Thug number 1 began to explain what transpired between them and Shindou last year.

"You're the ones who smoked on his face and gotten beated up as a result?!" I couldn't believe that rumor was actually real.

"Yes and that incident was a great act of injustice that he dealt to us." Thug number 2 explained.

"The rumour about Shindou-kun was actually true?!" Kumi-chan asked as she didn't believe that Shindou could actually harm someone without a proper reason and neither could I.

'There must be something more to the story than we know about the rumour.' I thought as one of them decided to speak.

"The rumour was a bit exagerated,but what really happened was that before the brat got involved in that we were 'asking' some money borrowed out of a shy classmate who is the kind of person that no one would have shown any concern with. Except that damn brat who saw the whole thing and told us to stop 'collecting' our well earned cash,so we tried to let him know what happens when someone tries to interfere with our business and teach him a lesson,but it didn't end pretty for us." Thug number 1 revealed the full details of what happened that led to that rumour about Shindou.

'These three are nothing but jerks!' I angrily thought as they continue to criticize the person who they believed to be responsible for their troubles.

"Yes,thanks to him we lost our recommendations that we had to a privileged university that we had taken for guranteed,our parents grounded us for months. As a result we had no choice but become thugs and it was all because of that damn brat!" The second thug complained about their misfortune that led them to become thugs.

"But that was your own fault!" I yelled at them, "The rumour about Shindou beating you three makes it look like you were the victims that got hurt, when in fact you're the ones who caused that trouble in the first place and Shindou was made the bad guy out of it!"

"You have quite the tongue girl,I'm looking forward to mess you two up as we get our revenge on Ryuga. Now come or else!" Thug number 3 ordered us to go with them.

"It's not like we have a choice in this matter." I whispered to myself as we were taken by them.

(Underworld King's Hiddeout)

The three thugs took us to a place that wasn't very different from the one where Shindou had defeated that gangster earlier.

"I heard that a friend of yours has been looking to fight me and he had Gear Chronicle with him."A purple-spiked-haired person spoke to us.

"Who are you?" I asked while having an idea of who the person in front of us was.

"Where are my manners. My name is Ichimaru Daisuke but here I'm know as the Underworld King. Welcome to my hiddeout." He introduced himself to the two of us with a small grin as he looked at us.

"What do you want from us?" Kumi-chan asked with a scared face what he wanted from us since neither of us recall having anything to do with him.

"To be honest with you two,I just wanted to fight Shindou Ryuga,the guy who easily destroyed my subbordinate a few hours ago and I heard that he wanted an audience with me,then those three proposed to kidnap both of you since he was seen with you two."He told us while looking at our kidnapers,"So I just decided to take you hostages so that he won't refuse to fight me when I give him a call."

"I believe that Shindou would have come to you if you just told him,you know? He was after you in the first place." I told him that Shindou would have come regardless of kidnaping us or not.

"It's called insurance little girl." The third thug casually said as I doubt it,since it was their idea to begin with.

"Putting your 'invitation' asides,it has been a while since I had a decent opponent,so I will use one of you as a warm up against the real deal." The Underworld King decided to fight us as a warm up against Shindou," If you win, you two can leave,if you loose,I'm taking your decks and the both of you as prisioners to use as bait against Shindou Ryuga,so is that a deal?"

"Why should I accept that deal?! And why are you saying that I'm inferior to Shindou?!" I asked him with an angry face.

"From what I realized,it seems that you don't want Shindou Ryuga to get involved in this quest right? And before you ask how I knew,it is because I can easily tell that you're the sort of person who would rather earn points in a honest way rather than resorting to other means. As for your second question,it took me a look to know that you are no match for me."

"In that case,if I win,you will also forbidden Shindou Ryuga from undergoing a fight against you! He shouldn't be participating in this kind of fights! Vanguard is supposed to be fun." I told him that this game is not supposed to have anything to loose,but to have fun playing it.

"You have a deal,what was your name?" The Underworld King asked my name.

"Anjou Tokoha. You better remember it Underworld King." I told him who I am.

"Oh,now I know where I've seen your face,you really look like Mamoru." He casually said my brother's first name.

"You know my big brother?" I asked him as he seemed to be recalling something.

"He was a past acquaintance of mine,but I won't hold back beacuse you are his little sister." He told me with a serious expression.

"Bring it on!" I told him.

"Good luck Tokoha-chan!" Kumi-chan wished me luck.

"You! Bring that thing." He ordered a random minion to bring a fight table that had some gloves on it.

"What's this?" I asked him while having a bad feeling about these gloves and the fight table in front of us.

"It's something that will make this fight more interesting." The thug holding Kumi-chan told me with a grin in his face, "Everyone who takes on the king must fight him in this table."

'It doesn't matter,all I have to do is win and take us out of here.' I thought as I redid the draw as I placed my hands inside the gloves.

"Stand Up, Vanguard!" I stood up my vanguard.

"Stand Up, Vanguard!" He did the same as the fight began but something that I didn't expect came to my sight.

"What? GIRS?" I asked in surprise as my unit appeared above me.

"Not exactly,this was one of the prototypes that were given to us to use in the Under Quests by a certain sponsor." He explained as he began his turn.

The fight was going well for me in the initials steps and I strided once and managed to get his damage to 5,but all that changed in the next turn when he started to laugh.

"What is so funny?!" I asked annoyed his sudden confidence.

"You just opened the dorway to your defeat, Breakride! " A unit that I have never seen in my life was Break Rided to the (VC) as a giant shadow with a black-red ring in it's back appeared on the battlefield that took that other unit's place.

"What is that unit?!" I had a terrible feeling about this unit.

"It is one of the most deadly units of this game,but let me show you what it can do." He told me as his style changed all of a sudden.

I tried to fight harder but he easily repeled my attacks and cornered me.

"This is the end for you!" Ahsha was sucked into a black hole as she vanished in particles.

"I lost." I just lost the fight alongside mine and Kumi-chan's decks.

"Tokoha-chan." Kumi-chan said with a worried face.

"You sure did and now your decks are mine for the taking." He took my deck and FICA while Kumi-chan's was taken by one of the three thugs.

"Now that we have the bait,call Shindou Ryuga here!" Underworld King had the nerve to order me around.

"I don't take orders from you! And I don't even have his phone number!" I yelled at him.

"Huh? He is your friend and you don't even have shared contact information?" He asked that with a confusion look in his face.

'We are only acquaintances not friends.' I thought as one of the thugs grabbed me and took me near Kumi-chan.

"Sorry Kumi-chan." I apollogized to Kumi-chan.

"It's alright Tokoha-chan, we must trust that Shindou-kun will solve this." Kumi said as I hoped the same.

"You!" He ordered one of his goons, "Hack the Association's security and get his contact."

"Boss I managed to Hack the information of his contact out of the Vanguard Association's HQ." The goon got Shindou's number in a few minutes.

"Good,I will call him out myself." He started to dial Shindou's number on his phone and in a few seconds he got a reply.

"Is this Shindou Ryuga?" He asked to the person that was being spoken to and I heard Shindou's voice from his phone.

"We have something that you want. Come alone to this address...and don't be late or else." With that he ended the call.

"It seems that your friend is coming after better pray that he wins otherwise your decks will have a new permanent owner,me." He told us as we didn't know already.

"Tokoha-Chan, Is Shindou-kun going to be alright?" Kumi-chan asks me if Shindou will be fine.

"All we can do is hope that he kicks this jerk's butt,otherwise we won't be getting our decks back." I silently hoped that Shindou Ryuga would come to take us out of this jam.

* * *

Shindou Ryuga's P.O.V

(Meanwhile)

I had finished shopping the ingredients for my dinner and was heading home when my phone rang.

"Hello?" I answered the call of the number that I'm pretty sure that I didn't recognize.

"Is this Shindou Ryuga?" A voice that I didn't recognize spoke to me.

"The one and only,who wants to know?" I replied as the caller just decided to state his business.

"We have something that you want. Come alone to this address...and don't be late or else." And the call turned was turned off as I recieved a message that had a link to location marked on the map.

"What a charming fellow." I said with sarcasm as I quickly went home to put the shopping bags there and headed off to the location on the map it was sent to me.

(Underworld King's Hiddeout)

I arrived to another alley that wasn't very much different from the one where I went a few hours ago and when I got there, I saw Tokoha and Kumi being held by two thugs that looked familiar.

"How did you both get caught in the first place?" I asked them as I believed that they wouldn't get involved in this shady quest.

"Well we were kidnaped by three people Shindou-kun,two of them are holding us as you can see and the third hasn't come back yet." Kumi replied to me as I realized that the third member is probably waiting for a chance to strike me when I'm distracted.

"Did you say three?" I noticed that a third party atempted to sneak from behind.

"We decided to take them as baits for our revenge Ryuga!" A third thug appeared from behind me and tried to punch me,but I ducked the punch,grabbed his arm,twisted it a bit and throwned him to the ground and he let out a small scream of pain due to the fall.

"Do I know you three from somewhere?" I asked them because I had encountered a lot of people like them in the past 3 years,so I couldn't keep track of all of them and from I could see it looked like they knew me personally from the way this guy mentioned my name just now.

"Have you forgotten what happened last year between us,you bastard?!" The thug holding Tokoha yelled at me as I were supposed to recognize them.

"I've met a lot of people like you,so it's only natural that I don't remember all of them." I told him with a sigh.

"Shindou,these are the guys from the rumor that were beaten up by you because you helped out a shy person last year." Tokoha explained who they were to me with a sigh as I started to remember them and what they did to deserve a beating from me last year.

"I see that you haven't stopped your ways of messing with other people who can't defend for themselves." I glared at them with a fierce look ," From classmates to innocent girls? And on top of that my friends? You sure have grown bolder since last time we met."

'Did he really called us "my friends" ?' Tokoha couldn't believe that the swirl had called her 'friend',Kumi-chan she could understand due to her friendly attitude that she shows around everyone she meets. On the other hand all she does to him is yelling and bossing him around and he doesn't even complain at all except when the green-haired girl goes too far.

"That was a fine demonstration of a beautifull friendship." The same voice on the phone has spoken as a purple-spiked-haired person stepped out from the shadows so that we could see him with the punk I crushed earlier," To think that the rumored Gear Chronicle would be in the hands of a person like you Shindou Ryuga."

'This guy must have a love for the dramatic entrances.' I thought as the person who was obviously the Underworld King entered the fray.

"I'm guessing that you're the Underworld King then?" I stated what was most likely the case.

"Ichimaru Daisuke but you already know my allias here." He introduced himself to me and showed me two FICAs," These used to belong to those girls until I defeated Anjou Mamoru's little sister."

'If he beated Anjou,this means that this guy has a bit of skill.' I thought to myself as Tokoha seemed to be mad at the fact that her big brother was mentioned. I noticed that the thug on the ground was trying to get up.

"You will pay for th-" I kicked him hard in the face,knocking him down before he had a chance to get up.

"Not taking any risks of having to deal with this scum later." I said not carrying for the one who I knocked out.

"Come to thing of it,wouldn't you be interested in joining my gang Shindou?" The Underworld King asks me if I wanted to join him, "You seem to have a knack to break the rules around us and the people around these alleys fears you and I would give you a position as my right-hand man if you want,you can even call the shots as long as they don't oppose me in any way. If you joined us right now,I could hand you over the points from the quest,release the girls and give them back their decks if you like. All you have to do is to agree with these terms."

"Those terms are quite tempting,but...no" I rejected his offer.

"Why did you refuse the king's offer?" The gangster asked me in confusion, " He was giving you a free spot as one of us and the girls wouldn't be in trouble."

"That is why I reject it." I told to the people around me, "They would blame themselves for making joing your King's gang and I don't like to take orders from people who are not my friends!" I said.

"Is that really how you want it?" Daisuke asked me with his eyes shadowed by his hair in a silent tone.

"Yeah,I want to fight you and win. And taking the girls hostage just motivated me even further." I told him my intention.

"In that case,if you loose,you already know the drill." He turned to the gangster, "Bring that thing again!" With that he ordered the gangster to bring a fight table alongside 4 gloves that were attached to the device and we put them on to turn on the device.

"Shindou that devic-" Tokoha tried to warn me about something but the thug holding her placed his hand in front of her mouth to cover it.

"Don't spoil it girl." The thug smugly said as he thought that he could keep that energy ball known as Anjou Tokoha in check, "Now be a good girl and sta-" He didn't finished what he had to say as Tokoha bitted his finger making him release his hand from her mouth.

"Shindou,be carefull! He has a terrifying unit!" Tokoha yelled as she tried to warn me,but when the thug was about to slap her for bitting his finger.

"Let her be!" Underworld King prevented the thug from slapping the green-haired girl, "He will find out anyways during this fight,that is if he can make it all the way to it."

'What could it be that terrifying unit? No matter,I will know as the fight goes on.' I thought as I did the mulligan.

"Good luck Shindou-kun." Kumi wished me luck.

"You better win this Shindou or you will have to take responsibility for this!" Tokoha told me as I didn't know what was at stake here.

'I guess that this is her way of wishing me good luck.' I thought as I drew the cards from the mulligan.

"Yeah,yeah Anjou,like I don't know what is at stake here." I answered back to her as I got ready to stand my starter.

"But first place the gloves." The Underworld King told me as we placed the gloves then...a magnetic lock and chain came from the machine and attached to the small gap in the glove.

"A fighter can only escape after a winner is determined,otherwise there won't be any chances of leaving." He said as I now had no choice otherwise,stuck forever.

'Whatever.' I thought as the fight was abot to start.

"Stand Up! Owari No Vanguard!" I shouted as I began to turn my card face-up.

"Stand Up! Vanguard!" The Underworld King did the same as me.

The space around us changed to a place in the middle of space.

"Tick-Tock Dracokid (G0/5000)!" The small dragon appeared flying in the cosmos.

"Star-vader World Line Dragon (G0/5000)!" A small white dragon appeared on the top of an asteroid.

'That unit! Could that deck be?' I thought in surprise at the unit that was in the (VC) was something that wasn't seen very often.

'No wonder she lost,there was no way for her to win against that unit.' I was surprised that this illegal quest would get 'that' unit as my opponent,but most importantly.

"Is this a GIRS?" I asked him if this was some kind of GIRS when I saw our units above us.

"No,this is a prototype of the GIRS that was given to us by the sponsor of this Under Quest that was paid.I will admit that it doesn't suit my personal tastes but that was what the sponsor wanted and it was good money,so I'm not complaining." He replied to me as I began to form a theory.

' A prototype and suspicious sponsor who would go to the point of bribing so that it would be used,so that's how it is.' I figured right away the real purpose of this machine.

 _ **Turn 1 - Ichimaru Daisuke**_

"At the start of my ride phase I will activate World Line's skill! By discarting a "Яeverse" unit from my had I can check the five top cards in my deck,search for a Link Joker card and add it to my hand." He revealed Demon Marquis, Amon "Яeverse"(G3/11000) as he discarted it, "I had this to my hand." He revealed Strike Star-Vader,krypton (G2/ 10000).

"I will ride Taboo Star-vader,Rubidium (G1/7000)!" The white dragon became a female cyborg that had 2 black-red rings in her shoulders.

"Turn end." He finished his turn. "Let's see what you can do."

* * *

 **Shindou Ryuga's Board - (** **Tick-Tock Dracokid** **\- (VC) )**

 **Damage [] [] [] [] [] [] Hand:5 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone:**

 **Ichimaru Daisuke's Board- (Taboo Star-vader,Rubidium- (VC) )**

 **Damage [] [] [] [] [] [] Hand:5 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone: 1x** **Demon Marquis, Amon** **"Яeverse"**

* * *

 _ **Turn 2 - Shindou Ryuga**_

"Ride! Steam Breath Dragon (G1/7000)!" Tick-Tock leaped forwards as he became Steam Breath.

"I will move Tick-Tock behind my (VG) then I attack your Vanguard (12000)!" Steam Breath jumped from the comet torwards Rubdium.

"No guard." Daisuke declared.

"Drive check,,none [Steam Breath Dragon]." Steam Breath's claw slashed Rubdium out of the meteor and began to fall into space,but managed to jump into another meteor after she regained her balance.

"Damage check,none [Engraving Star-vader,Praseodymium (G1/6000)]" as he placed the card in his damage zone,but for his surprise nothing happened.

"What's this? Why I am not recieving the pain?" Daisuke wondered why he wasn't getting any pain from placing a card in his damage zone.

'What is he talking about?' I wondered as he still had a look of confusion in his face.

"Turn end." I ended my turn.

"Why didn't he recieved any pain just now?" Tohoha asked as I was wondering what was up as the thugs were trying to hold their laughs.

'They will soon find out about our little surprise.' They thought at the same time.

* * *

 **Shindou Ryuga's Board - (Steam Breath Dragon- (VC) ),** **(** **Tick-Tock Dracokid** **\- (RC) behind (VG))**

 **Damage [] [] [] [] [] [] Hand:6 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone:**

 **Ichimaru Daisuke's Board- (Taboo Star-vader,Rubidium- (VC) )**

 **Damage [Engraving Star-vader-Praseodymium] [] [] [] [] [] Hand:5 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone: 1x** **Demon Marquis, Amon** **"Яeverse"**

* * *

 _ **Turn 3 - Ichimaru Daisuke**_

"At the start of my Ride phase,I will use World Line skill from the soul to once again discard a "Яeverse" unit and search for another Link Joker card from the top five cards from my deck." He discarded Dark Dimensional Robo, "Яeverse" Daiyusha and added Star-vader, Magnet Hollow (G2/9000).

"Then I will ride Strike Star-vader,Krypton(G2/10000)." Rubdium was replaced by Krypton.

"Krypton attacks your vanguard (10000) !" Krypton went from the meteor straight to Steam breath.

"No guard." I didn't bother to defend this one.

"Drive check,Get draw trigger[Vortex Star-vader,Molybdenum(G0/5000)] all effects to Krypton and draw." He drew his card as Krytpon stabs Steam Breath with his spear.

"Damage check,none [Steam Maiden,Arlim (G1/6000/Sentinel)] " I placed the card in my damage zone,but when I did...

"Aaargh." I felt shock coursing throught my body that came from the gloves, "What's this?"

"Why is the voltage at maximum?" Daisuke asked as he saw me taking the damage.

"Why? We were the ones who did it!" The thug holding Tokoha laughed as he answered the Underwold King's question, "Instead of you taking the damage as well,it will all go to that brat. Best part is that we setted the charge to full power,so he will take the voltage at the highest level."

"I didn't ordered you to modify the machine's settings to maximum." The Underworld King wasn't amused by their latest stunt that was ruinning his fight experience, "I was also supposed to get the thrill of the pain given by our fight."

"Who cares,when that brat looses he will be lucky to get out of there alive,hahahaha!" The thug holding Kumi laughed as the girls began to worry.

"Wait until I put my hands on both of you." I grunted as I swore that these two would pay for this.

"That is if you can win and leave that machine in one piece!" The thug barked.

* * *

 **Shindou Ryuga's Board - (** **Steam Breath Dragon** **\- (VC) ),** **(** **Tick-Tock Dracokid** **\- (RC) behind (VG))**

 **Damage [Steam Maiden,Arlim] [] [] [] [] [] Hand:6 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone:**

 **Ichimaru Daisuke's Board- (Strike Star-vader, Krypton - (VC) )**

 **Damage [Engraving Star-vader-Praseodymium] [] [] [] [] [] Hand:7 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone: 1x Demon Marquis, Amon** **"Яeverse"** **; 1x** **Dark Dimensional Robo, "Яeverse" Daiyusha** **  
**

* * *

 _ **Turn 4 - Shindou Ryuga**_

"Is Shindou-kun going to be alright?" Kumi asked Tokoha as she was concerned for my current state.

"I can't tell for sure,the pain that I recieved in that fight earlier wasn't anything like what I am seeing right now." Tokoha stated as she saw Ryuga's body shaking a bit from the shock it recieved."Shindou,each time you take damage, the more powefull the shocks taht you recieve from the gloves are going to get."

'This is only going to get worse every time I take a damage,I must end this before 'that' unit shows up.' I thought as I was a feeling a bit numb from the shock that I just took.

"Stand and Draw! Ride! Smokegear Dragon (G2/10000)!" Steam Breath was involved in a white glow as it became Somekegear.

"I will call another one to the left and attack with it (10000)!" Smokey rushes to Krypton in order to slam his claw at it.

"Guard (SD 15000)." He guarded with Vortex Star-vader,Molybdenum as he threw the cube that exploded on Smokegear,stoping it as Kryton took the opening to jump to another meteor nearby.

"With a boost from Tick-Tock, Smokegear attacks your vanguard (15000)!" Smokegear and Tick-Tock fired a combined beam attack at Krypton.

"No guard." The Underworld King doesn't guard this attack.

"Drive check,Get critical trigger [Steam Battler,Meshda(G0/5000)],all effects to my Vanguard." The beam hit Krypton,disarming it from his spear as it was lost in space.

"Damage check,none[Barrier Star-vader, Promethium(G1/P6000/Sentinel)],second check,none[Cleanup Celestial, Ramiel "Яeverse"(G3/11000)]. He placed the cards in the damage zone as he didn't get the shocks again.

"I end my turn." I said as I couldn't do anything else as I recovered from that shock.

* * *

 **Shindou Ryuga's Board - (Smokegear Dragon** **\- (VC) ),** **(** **Tick-Tock Dracokid** **\- (RC) behind (VG)),(** **Smokegear Dragon** **\- (RC) to the left in the front row)**

 **Damage [** **Steam Maiden,Arlim** **] [] [] [] [] [] Hand:6 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone:**

 **Ichimaru Daisuke's Board- (** **Strike Star-vader, Krypton** **\- (VC) )**

 **Damage [Engraving Star-vader-Praseodymium] [** **Barrier Star-vader, Promethium** **] [Cleanup Celestial, Ramiel "Яeverse"] [] [] [] Hand:6 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone:** **1x Demon Marquis, Amon** **"Яeverse"** **; 1x** **Dark Dimensional Robo, "Яeverse" Daiyusha; 1x** **Vortex Star-vader,Molybdenum  
**

* * *

 _ **Turn 5 - Ichimaru Daisuke**_

'Right now the damage count is 1 to 3 in Shindou's favor,but if the Underworld King's damage becomes 4 or more,the situation will get nasty.' Tokoha thought as she knew what would come next.

'After my next turn,unless he gets a heal trigger,he will be able to use a Limit Break,which one it will be first though?' I asked to myself as I wondered if it was the breakride unit or the big boss himself.

"Stand and Draw." He had a look of someone who managed to draw a good card.

'Did draw 'that' card?' I thought as Daisuke was about to do his next move.

"As you already know,at the start of my Ride phase,I will use World Line skill for the last time." He discarded Broken Heart Jewel Knight, Ashlei "Яeverse"(G3/11000) and added Barrier Star-vader, Promethium (G1/6000/Sentinel) to his hand.

"Being of zero and infinity,lead the initial steps of destruction with your wings! Ride! Star-vader, Infinite Zero Dragon(G3/11000)!" Krypton became a white dragon with black rings in the back of it's wings.

'So the breakride first then.' I thought as the white dragon roared as it took off to space.

"Calling Star-vader,Magnet Hollow(G2/9000) to the right!" A robot with a light saber appeared.

"Infinite Zero attacks your vanguard,skill power plus 2000 (11000-13000)!" A small collection of black rings gathered near Infinite Zero's mouth as he fired a rainbow colored beam through them.

"No guard." I didn't guard knowing that this attack was going to hurt.

"Twin check,get critical trigger[Star-vader,Sparkdoll(G0/5000)] power to Magnet and the critcial goes to check none[Star-Vader,Infinite Zero Dragon (G3/11000)]. The beam hit Smokey,creating a rainbow colored flash that destroyed the asteriod where he was standing as well,making it fall to the darkness of space.

"Damage check check,none[Masergear Dragon(G1/8000)] aaarrrgghh. I yelled in pain once again as I placed the first revealed card in the damage zone.

"S-second check,none[Chronojet Dragon(G3/11000)]" I managed to not yell how much it hurted this time.

'I am starting to get used to this pain,but I will not last long if I keep taking damage like this.' I thought as the pain increased slightly from last time.

"What's wrong damn brat? Getting a call from hell?" The thug holding Tokoha mocked my current state.

"Your pain is music to our ears!" The other thug mocked as well.

'Such horrible Shindou don't give in.' Tokoha thought as she saw the swirly red-haired boy suffering.

"I will also attack your Vanguard with Magnet hollow(14000)!" Magnet Hollow went to the spot where the knocked out Smokey was floating around.

"G-guard (SD 15000)! I placed Masergear in the (GC) as it took the hit in the unconscious Smokey's place.

"Turn end." Daisuke ended his turn.

* * *

 **Shindou Ryuga's Board - (Smokegear Dragon** **\- (VC) ),** **(** **Tick-Tock Dracokid** **\- (RC) behind (VG)),(** **Smokegear Dragon** **\- (RC) to the left in the front row)**

 **Damage [** **Steam Maiden,Arlim** **] [Masergear Dragon] [Chronojet Dragon] [] [] [] Hand:5 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone:1x Masergear Dragon**

 **Ichimaru Daisuke's Board- (Star-vader, Infinite Zero Dragon** **\- (VC) ),** **(** **Star-vader,Magnet Hollow** **\- (RC) to the right in the front row)**

 **Damage [Engraving Star-vader-Praseodymium] [** **Barrier Star-vader, Promethium** **] [Cleanup Celestial, Ramiel "Яeverse"] [] [] [] Hand:7 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone:** **1x Demon Marquis, Amon** **"Яeverse"** **; 1x** **Dark Dimensional Robo, "Яeverse" Daiyusha; 1x** **Vortex Star-vader,Molybdenum;1x Broken Heart Jewel Knight, Ashlei "Яeverse"**

* * *

 _ **Turn 6 - Shindou Ryuga**_

"Stand and D-draw." I stood my units and drew as I slowed my breathing a bit to ignore the pain.

"Take it you keep up like that you might die." Daisuke told me as he saw my state.

"Now you show concern?" I asked him as I was slowly recovering,"If you think that this will stop me,you're wrong!"

"Bring me the Future that I seek to create! Ride! Chronojet Dragon(G3/11000)!" Smokey woke up as he was filled with energy and transformed into Chronojet and flew in pursuit of Infinite Zero.

"Generation Zone...Release!" I discarted the Steam Breath in my hand as Chronojet began his STRIDE.

"Come from the future and and bring a new tomorrow! Stride Generation! Miracle Element,Atmos(G4/26000)!" The giant yellow Cray Elemental looked down on Infinite Zero.

"Stride skill! Send Magnet Hollow to the bottom of your deck!" With a gest from a hand,a vortex appeared behind Magnet Hollow and dragged it into the portal that closed a few seconds later, "Calling Ruin Disposal Dragon (G3/11000) and Lucky Pot Dracokid (G0/4000) as well!"

"By sending Lucky Pot to the soul I can give 3000 power to one of my unit's which is Smokey on the left (13000)."

"Atmos attacks your Vanguard (31000)!" Atmos aimed his giant hands at Infinite Zero as it fired a giant white ball at the dragon.

"Perfect guard!" He discarted the Infinite Zero that he got from his previous twin drive in order to pay for Promethium's cost.

"Triple Drive! First check,none[Steam Maiden,Arlim(G1/6000/Sentine)] .Second Check,get Critical trigger[Steam Battler,Meshda(G0/5000)],giving all effects to Ruin Disposal (16000/Crit 2).Third check,none[Ruin Disposal Dragon(G3/11000)]."

"Go Smokey(13000)!" Smokey fired a beam at Zero.

"Guard (SD 16000)!"He guarded with 1 Engraving Star-vader-Praseodymium as it took the hit instead of the white dragon.

"Ruin Disposal!(16000/crit 2)!" Ruin fired at the white dragon.

'Gotcha!' The Underworld King thought as he decided to leave this one pass.

"No guard." He said with a smirk,"Damage check,Get critical trigger[Star-vader, Appollonel Dragon(G0/5000)] all effects to Infinite (16000/crit 2).Second check,Get critical trigger[Star-vader, Sparkdoll(G0/5000)] all to Infinite as well (21000/crit 3).

* * *

 **Shindou Ryuga's Board - (Chronojet Dragon** **\- (VC) ),** **(** **Tick-Tock Dracokid** **\- (RC) behind (VG)),(** **Smokegear Dragon** **\- (RC) to the left in the front row),** **(Ruin Disposal Dragon** **\- (RC) to the right in the front row)**

 **Damage [** **Steam Maiden,Arlim** **](Facedown) [Masergear Dragon] [Chronojet Dragon] [] [] [] Hand:6 GB:1**

 **G-zone Face up: 1x Miracle Element,Atmos** **  
**

 **Drop Zone:1x Masergear Dragon;1x Steam Breath Dragon**

 **Ichimaru Daisuke's Board- (Star-vader, Infinite Zero Dragon** **\- (VC) )**

 **Damage [Engraving Star-vader-Praseodymium] [** **Barrier Star-vader, Promethium** **] [Cleanup Celestial, Ramiel "Яeverse"] [Star-vader, Appollonel Dragon] [Star-vader, Sparkdoll] [] Hand:4 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone:** **1x Demon Marquis, Amon** **"Яeverse"** **; 1x** **Dark Dimensional Robo, "Яeverse" Daiyusha; 1x** **Vortex Star-vader,Molybdenum;1x Broken Heart Jewel Knight, Ashlei "Яeverse";1x** **Star-vader, Infinite Zero Dragon;1x** **Barrier Star-vader, Promethium;1x** **Engraving Star-vader-Praseodymium**

* * *

 ** _Turn 7 - Ichimaru Daisuke_**

"Stand and Draw. This fight has been quite enjoyable despite the unfair settups placed by my subbordinates." He said looking at the two thugs holding the girls.

'This is it.' I thought as I knew what was going to come.

"That thing is coming again Tokoha-chan." Kumi said to her as she agreed.

"Yeah,this might be over for Shindou." Tokoha said as she started to loose hope.

"Break Ride! Sword of despair that erases the concept of common knowledge,grant despair upon my foes! Star-vader, Omega Glendios(G3/11000)!" A giant made of the fires of despair appeared on the field as it had a giant black ring in it's back.

"Break Ride skill,Lock Tick-Tock and Smokegear." Glendios fired two orbs surrounded by red-black rings from it's claws that trapped Tick and Smokey inside of them.

"Call! Maiden of Venus Trap "Яeverse".I lock your Disposal in the frontrow." A female in ghotic clothes appeared as Glendios fired another ball from it's claw at Ruin,trapping it in the lock," If you think that those were the regular old Locks,you are mistaken Shindou-kun."

"Thanks to Glendios any "Яeverse" in my field becomes a Link Joker and it grants that unit 4000 power (15000).Ascendant Joker!" Venus was surrounded by a rainbow colored aura.

"Limit Break!" He paid a counter blast and discarted School Punisher, Leo-pald "Яeverse"," Omega Lock! Now even after your next turn ends,that Lock won't be undone."

"This is exactly what happened in our fight,he first locked my allies one by one,then...I lost to his Ultimate Break." Tokoha told me how she lost to him.

"At this rate the same will happen to Shindou-kun."

"No matter what you do,don't place more card's on the field,otherwi-" Tokoha tried to warn me as I interrupted her.

"There is no need to tell me about that unit's skill,I already know what it does." I told her calmly to the confusion of the people around us.

"Glendios can Omega Lock by discarting a "Яeverse" unit,can make "Яeverse" units become Link Joker,powering them up,but the most terrifying feature is that when the opponent has 5 card's locked at the start his main phase,he can win the game with an alternative winning condition." I explained what Glendios abilities consisted of.

"If you knew about it,why letting me get to 5 damage?" The Underworld King asked me as I made a smirk in response.

"Why? It is true that Glendios Ultimate Break can finish off your opponent when 5 rear-guards are locked at the start of your main phase,however setting up the conditions takes time and resources,not to mention that you have to guard more carefully to avoid loosing." I revealed Glendios biggest flaw.

"So,Shindou-kun was already aware of the lure?" Kumi asked to no one.

"Since when?" Tokoha asks.

"Since I saw World Line Dragon." I told her, "That was the biggest giveaway for any fighter who already knows about Glendios existence."

"I'm impressed. There are not a lot of people who actually knows about this unit's existence." Daisuke stated as he was impressed by the fact that I knew about Glendios existence.

"But that won't chage the fact that you are going to loose." He declares that he will win in the next turn,"Calling 2 Star-vader, Cold Death Dragon(G2/8000)!" Two smaller white dragons appeared on the field.

"Using their skills,I force you to place the top card from your deck to a (RC) in a locked state,but since the Omega Lock is activated they will enter in a permanent Locked state!" I placed the two top cards from my deck into the empty circles in a Omega Locked state.

" Ha! He was forced to place cards there against his will,too bad,you damn brat!" The thugs mocked me again.

"Glendios will attack your Vanguard (21000)!" Glendy aims his claw at Chronojet.

"Perfect Guard!" I discarted Steam Battler,Meshda in order to use Arlim's skill.

"Twin check,none[Barrier Star-vader, Promethium].Second check,none[Taboo Star-vader,Rubidium]

'Oh no! Those are the worst possible cards that could have come in the checks of all times.' Tokoha thought as the fight was as good as over from her point of view and let her head down.

"Tokoha-chan,what's wrong?" Kumi asked her friend who didn't look up.

"Shindou has already lost Kumi-chan." It was her reply.

* * *

 **Shindou Ryuga's Board - (** **Chronojet Dragon** **\- (VC) ),** **(** **Tick-Tock Dracokid** **\- (RC) behind (VG))[Omega Locked],(** **Smokegear Dragon** **\- (RC) to the left in the front row)[Omega Locked],** **(Ruin Disposal Dragon** **\- (RC) to the right in the front row)** **[Omega Locked],(Steam Maiden,Uluru)** **\- (RC) to the right in the back row)** **[Omega Locked],** **(Steam Maiden,Uluru)** **\- (RC) to the left in the back row)** **[Omega Locked]**

 **Damage [** **Steam Maiden,Arlim** **](Facedown) [Masergear Dragon] [Chronojet Dragon] [] [] [] Hand:4 GB:1**

 **G-zone Face up: 1x Miracle Element,Atmos** **  
**

 **Drop Zone:1x Masergear Dragon;** **1x Steam Breath Dragon;** **1x Steam Battler,Meshda ;1x** **Steam Maiden,Arlim**

 **Ichimaru Daisuke's Board- (Star-vader, Omega Glendios** **\- (VC) ),** **(Star-vader, Cold Death Dragon** **\- (RC) to the right in the front row),(** **Maiden of Venus Trap "Яeverse"** **\- (RC) to the right in the back row),** **(Star-vader, Cold Death Dragon** **\- (RC) to the leftt in the front row)**

 **Damage [Engraving Star-vader-Praseodymium](Facedown) [** **Barrier Star-vader, Promethium** **](Facedown) [Cleanup Celestial, Ramiel "Яeverse"]** **(Facedown)** **[Star-vader, Appollonel Dragon] [Star-vader, Sparkdoll] [] Hand:3 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone:** **1x Demon Marquis, Amon** **"Яeverse"** **; 1x** **Dark Dimensional Robo, "Яeverse" Daiyusha; 1x** **Vortex Star-vader,Molybdenum;1x Broken Heart Jewel Knight, Ashlei "Яeverse";1x** **Star-vader, Infinite Zero Dragon;1x** **Barrier Star-vader, Promethium;1x** **Engraving Star-vader-Praseodymium;1x** **School Punisher, Leo-pald "Яeverse"**

* * *

 _ **Turn 8 - Shindou Ryuuga**_

This was a good fight,but it will be over regardless." The Underworld King said to me as it was a foregone conclusion.

"I wonder about that..." I told him as I had no intention of giving up.

"How can you even hope to win,Shindou?" Tokoha asked me as I turned my head in her direction and saw that her head was down.

"No matter how bad the situation is,a true fighter never gives up until the very end." I told her with a steeled resolution. "Let me show you what a real fighter can do."Her head went up when she saw my eyes.

'Such fighting spirit,even in a situation like this he doesn't quit?' Tokoha thought as Ryuga prepared to end this fight.

"Stand and Draw!" I drew the card with everything I had.

"Generation Zone...Release!" I discarted the Ruin Disposal in my hand as the cost for STRIDE.

"Come from the future and and bring a new tomorrow! Stride Generation! Interdimensional Dragon,Chronoscommand Dragon (G4/26000)!" Chronojet became a brown dragon who was sitting as it was floating in space.

"Skill activate! Counterblast 2 and Soulblast 3, I can return all Rear-guards and Locked cards the bottom of the owner's decks." Chronoscommand aimed his staff above as it created a giant circle that sucked the other units included the ones that were omega locked.

"What?!" Everyone asked in shock that a G-unit had the power to even turn the tables around the Omega Lock..

"This skill is known as Return Of Zero!" I said the name that I came up with for the skill as I finished placing my locked cards in the bottom of my deck.

"There was a Gear Chroncle unit capable of dealing with locks?!" The Underworld King asked with shock as his plan to win was now in ruins.

'It didn't exist until that weird thing happened since it's original skill sucked,but that will be a secret.' I thought as I got rid of the other units on the field except for Glendios.

"The Omega Lock was taken out like it was nothing!" The gangster said as his mouth was completely opened.

"The skill is not over yet!" I yelled as I wasn't done yet.

"There's more?" They all asked.

"For each 2 cards returned to the bottom of a player's deck, I may Soulcharge 1 card,I returned 8 cards,but I can only soulcharge 3 throught this skill." I said as I placed the top 3 cards in the soul."Then if 3 cards were placed in the soul by this skill I draw 2 cards."

"Calling Steam Knight, Puzur-Ili(G2/9000) and Masergear Dragon(G1/8000)." My reinforcements arrived as they were ready to aattck Glendios.

"Chronoscommand attacks Glendios (26000)!" Chronoscommand raises his staff once again as multiple cicles appeared and a giant beam was shot down throught the circles in Glendios' direction.

'Thanks to that skill,this hand is useless now.' Daisuke thought as he couldn't do anything to avoid the sixth damage.

"No guard!"He declared.

"Triple Drive! First check,Get heal trigger giving all the effects to Puzur(14000).Second Check,none[Steam Breath Dragon(G1/7000)].Third check,none[Smokegear Dragon (G2/10000)." The cybernetic constructs managed to protect Glendios as they were destroyed by the attack.

"Damage check,none[Star-vader,Omega Glendios(G3/11000)]." Daisuke said as he placed The last card in the damage zone as Glendios exploded in a glorious fashion as it was torn to pieces by the giant beam.

"I lost the fight,but it was very satisfying to the end." He admited his loss to me.

* * *

 **Shindou Ryuga's Board - (** **Chronojet Dragon** **\- (VC) ),(Steam Knight, Puzur-Ili** **\- (RC) to the left in the front row),** **(Masergear Dragon** **\- (RC) to the left in the back row),**

 **Damage [** **Steam Maiden,Arlim** **](Facedown) [Masergear Dragon](Facedown) [Chronojet Dragon](Facedown) [] [] [] Hand:7 GB:2**

 **G-zone Face up: 1x Miracle Element,Atmos** **  
**

 **Drop Zone:** **Masergear Dragon;2** **x Steam Breath Dragon;** **1x Steam Battler,Meshda ;1x** **Steam Maiden,Arlim;1x Smokegear Dragon;1x Dragon,Luckypot Dracokid.**

 **Ichimaru Daisuke's Board- (Star-vader, Omega Glendios** **\- (VC) )**

 **Damage [Engraving Star-vader-Praseodymium](Facedown) [** **Barrier Star-vader, Promethium** **](Facedown) [Cleanup Celestial, Ramiel "Яeverse"]** **(Facedown)** **[Star-vader, Appollonel Dragon] [Star-vader, Sparkdoll] [** **Star-vader, Omega Glendios** **] Hand:1 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone:** **1x Demon Marquis, Amon** **"Яeverse"** **; 1x** **Dark Dimensional Robo, "Яeverse" Daiyusha; 1x** **Vortex Star-vader,Molybdenum;1x Broken Heart Jewel Knight, Ashlei "Яeverse";1x** **Star-vader, Infinite Zero Dragon;2x** **Barrier Star-vader, Promethium;1x** **Engraving Star-vader-Praseodymium;1x** **School Punisher, Leo-pald "Яeverse"**

* * *

'He did really did it!' Tokoha thought with disbelieve as Shindou and the Underworld King hands were released from the glove's lock system.

"You did it Shindou-kun!" Kumi said as I placed my deck in the FICA.

"This can't be he lost and the damn brat is still alive and well!" The thug holding Tokoha couldn't believe that they fallied in their plan to kill me.

"Now that the fight is finished, hand me over the girls and the points for the Under Quest!" I didn't waste any time demanding what I wanted from the defeated Underworld King as I maintained my cool.

"A deal is a deal,release the girls." He ordered the thugs to let the girls go as he handed me their FICAs,but...

"Why should we do that?! This girls can stilll be used to deal with that damn brat!" The two of them pull out a seringue and aims it at the girl's arms, "Kneel before us right now,you damn brat, otherwise we will inject the contents of these babys in these girls."

"That's not what you promissed!" Tokoha was annoyed by the fact that these two are refusing to let them go and became scared by what they were about to do if I didn't comply to their order.

"Let them go! Didn't you hear me?!" The Underworld King ordered them once again, " Are you really going to disobey me after all I did for you?"

"Like hell we are going to obey the orders from a looser like you." The thug holding Kumi said , "Now brat kneel!" I had no choice in the matter as I put my knees on the ground.

"Look at the fearsome Shindou Ryuga who is considered a nightmare to fellow thugs like us is now on his knees and all because of these two useless girls and something as useless as Vanguard!" The thugs were mocking me as they laughed.

"What did you say?" I asked him with a hint of fury.

"Speaking of Vanguard,isn't that deck of yours unique,you brat?" The other thug made a mention of my deck, "We will trade you the hostages for that deck,I'm pretty sure that will sell for tons out there."

"You can't be serious?" Tokoha asked if he was for real.

"I am as serious as a scorpion who won't follow it's nature and stab another being. If that deck has such a great meaning to that damn brat,he will suffer a lot if we take it rom him." The thug holding Tokoha said to her as he decided to take my most important possession out of my hands.

'That's it! There is a chance to turn it around and I have their greed and stupitidy to thank for.' I thought of a plan right away to save the girls. 'If they were any smarter,this could have turned out worse,but I must be carefull with this plan.'

"Fine,do you mind if I keep my FICA?" I asked them as they wouldn't find any use for it," I will take the deck out of it and hand it over to you in exchange for the girls."

"You can keep that stupid device,but it will be our former king who will bring it to us since we don't trust you,damn brat." The thug holding Kumi said to me as they wish want to take any chances against me.

"Are you that afraid of me?" I asked them with fake surprise as their faces still had the same expression," Ichimaru-san,come over here so that we can get this thing done."

"I'm sorry for their behavior." He apologized to me as I took my deck out of the FICA and looked at the girls,"Both of you,don't worry,this will be over soon." I said to relieve them a bit.

"Shindou." Tokoha said.

"Shindou-kun" Kumi said.

Before the Underworld King had a chance to take the deck from my hands,I took and held 2 cards and threw them at the thugs hands that were holding the seringues, they hit the target which knocked the damn things out of their hands,then I threw my FICA with everything I had at the thug holding Kumi and hit his head.

"AAAaaaghhhh!" He yelled as he let the girl go in order to try to relief the pain that he was feeling right now.

"Are you alright?!" The other thug let Tokoha go as he went to attend to his injuried friend.

"Quick come and hide behind me!" They didn't waste any time to got behind me as the one who got hit by my FICA got up with the help of his fellow thug.

"Are you two alright?" I asked Tokoha and Kumi as they nooded in response.

"That hurted a lot!" His head was in pain due to the hit he took,"I will destroy this damn thing!" He grabbed and threw my FICA to the ground with everything that he had and the device was broken into pieces.

"You're horrible!" Kumi said as she looked at what it used to be my FICA.

"How could you do that?!" Tokoha gasped as she was looking at my destroyed FICA.

"Not only you disobeyed my orders,threatned the girls and now you destroyed my challenger's FICA? You've earned your expulsion from my group." Daisuke was really pissed off at them for pulling a stunt like this.

"Does this mean that they are no longer your men?" I carefully asked Underworld King as he was trying to see where I was going with this, "Would that mean that they have nothing to do with the Under Quest now?" I asked the question which would determine what I could do with those **two** in particular.

"No,they had already caused some trouble in the past,but this was the breaking point,so the Association will turn a blind eye to them since I have kicked them from my group starting this moment,so you are free to 'teach' them a lesson." Daisuke gave me the the aproval to rampage.

"I see,in that case..." I turned my head to the two worms that were about to learn what happens when someonereally pisses me off, " **To think that you lot would go this far just to make me suffer,I hope that you enjoyed your last seconds of freedom because after I'm done with you,jail will be your next home**." I said with pure venom in my voice,scarying the others around as I went torwards the disarmed thugs and they tried to fight back,keyword tried.

What happened during that massa- I mean honest fighting can only be described as a very,very painfull experience that none would like to know,but the thugs who are on the ground now knew that the meaning of pain transcended to a new tomorrow.(In other words,it hurted a lot!) I still wasn't done with those two,so I aproached them so that they could listen to me very well as their last seconds of freedom were over..

 **"Now you two punks,say goodbye to your freedom."** I told the two thugs who couldn't even raise their heads from the merciless beating that I gave them and fainted after I said those words and contacted the police comissioner and explainned him what happened,shortly a police car appeared and the three thugs were taken to the car.

"Thank you,and send my best regards to Ohara-san." I thanked the officer who went back to the car and left the scene.

"How do you know the police comissioner?" The Underworld King asked me as Tokoha,Kumi and the gangster were looking at me for the answer to that.

"That is a story for another time." I refused to tell them how I got to know the police comissioner and I went to pick the 2 'Chronojet Dragon' cards that were on the ground alongside my now broken FICA.

"Those three will never bother us again,and only the third one will be lucky enought to avoid jail,but he will be very busy explaining to his familly how he got involved with cops again." I said with a smirk,"Now let's leav-" I felt to the ground as I had my knees on the ground and was gasping in pain.

"Are you alright?!" Tokoha and Kumi went to help me get up.

"I did my best to keep my composure,but I reached my limit." I finally couldn't keep on my feet due to the pain I felt from the shocks I recieved earlier in the fight.

"I am amazed that you managed to beat the crap out of those two and keep your composure while still be injured from the shockwaves that you recieved during our fight." Daisuke said to me with some amazement.

"Shindou,didn't you overdid it a bit with those two with your injuries?" Tokoha asked me pretending to care about the fate of those two who pulled that stunt in the end even thought my body was in pain.

"Noop,they got what they deserved." I dismissed that question,"Anjou,Okazaki let's go. I'm sure that the two don't want to see this kind of place again." I told them to leave with me and we began to leave as they carried me in their shoulders.

"Wait! Your points!" Underworld King reminded me that I had a prize to collect but my FICA was broken.

"I will come back latter as soon as I get a new one from Kamui-san,but until then can you until I return?" I asked him to wait until I got a new FICA.

"Fine,be back our you won't be getting those points and now we will need to explain to our sponsor how the machine got broken." With that he took his phone and contacted someone that I it is most likely 'him' who provided them that thing and we left as I was carried by the two girls.

(Outside)

"I'm sorry about what happened just now." I apologized in a small tone to the two of them for what my actions caused as they were still carrying me in their shoulders.

"Why are you apologizing for Shindou-kun? You just saved us." Kumi said to me with a relieved expression.

"You two wouldn't have been caught up in this mess if I didn't try to get points like that." I said with regret at the fact that they almost got in trouble with bad 'medicine'.

"It's alright as long as you stop getting yourself into those quests ok." Tokoha said.

"I won't do it again." I promissed them and they stopped walking.

"I don't believe you,make a pinky promise right now Ryuga!" Tokoha turned her head to me said my first name while she demanded for me to do that childish vow thingy that would get our pinkies chopped off if we ever broke it.

"Anjou,that is something that is done nowadays by little kids and we are 14." I said this to her as I did NOT have any intention on taking part in that silly vow.

"Aren't we friends? You said so earlier. Did you lie about that?" She made a look of a poor and sad puppy who was kicked out to the streets without any mercy that looked that it was going to cry from sadness at any second.

'With that look, I will look like the bad guy here.' I thought as some people began to stare at us while muttering,'How can he make a girl cry like that','He has no shame' and sighed as they kept whispering garbage.

'Just go with the flow before they make another rumour about me.' I sighed at my misfortune.

"Happy now,Anjou?" I accepted and locked our smallest fingers while I sighed again in my mind.

"I think that is still not enough,but I will let it slide if you give us your contact." Tokoha told me with a grin in her face as I just registered my contact in her phone as she did the same with mine and gave it to Kumi.

'Anything else,boss?' I thought with some bitterness as Tokoha was taking advantage of the situation.

"Tokoha-chan,I believe that a new ice cream shop openned up recently and we might like it!" Kumi added as my face became depressed as the first Hokage's from Naruto.

'Not you too Okazaki.' I couldn't believe that Okazaki Kumi was trying to take advantage of this as well.

"Shindou can you als-Where are you going?!" Tokoha yelled as I broke free from being carried and started to run away from them at the fear of having to pay them a desert.(Or a lot of them! You know that girls can be such gluttons sometimes.)

"Now if you two don't mind I have to get a new FICA,get the points and go home to start prepare my dinner,so see you tomorrow at school." I said out loud as I decided to escape them and go to cardcapital 2,leaving them behind as I kept running.

"Get back here Shindou!" Tokoha and Kumi began to run after me."Aren't you injuried?"

"Yes,I am. However,there is no way that I'm paying you a desert!" I yelled as I kept running despite feeling pain as I ran.

* * *

 **Chapter 6 Preview:**

 **Turn 6 - Departures and Amigo.**

 **When Tokoha leaves to say goodbye to her friend and fight her one last time,something unexpected happens when she starts to fight.** **Ryuga has to babysi- I mean show a certain Euro League fighter and show him Japan's Vanguard.**

 **"How did this happen?"**

 **"Why do I have to be the poor soul who has to take care of this idiot?"**

 **"I hate when this happens!"  
**

* * *

 **The Chonoscommand's new full text:**

 **Interdimensional Dragon, Chronoscommand Dragon (Modified)**

 **[AUTO](VC):[Counter Blast (2) & Soul Blast (3)] When this unit is placed on the (VC), you may pay the cost. If you do, both players puts all ****of his or her rear-guards and locked cards on the bottom of his or her deck in any order and for each 2 cards that were put in the bottom of** **the deck,Soulcharge can only place up to 3 cards in your soul with this unit's 3 cards were placed in the soul by this unit's** **skill,draw 2 cards.**

* * *

 **QOTC:You may have already guessed who was the sponsor of that illegal quest,but I will just ask if you want to answer it. Who was the sponsor ?**


	7. Turn 6 - Departures and Amigo

AN: I rewrote a few parts of the chapter and added 1 small detail to the fight between Ryuga and Jaime. **  
**

* * *

 **Turn 6 - Departures and Amigo.  
**

* * *

A week went by since I did the Underquest and it took two days to recover from my injuries. It was kind of hard to explain to Mikuru how I got these injuries,but all went well in the end. I've been doing more easier quests,capturing a certain goofer,participating in mini-tournaments, helping people who were being 'asked to borrow their money' by some 'friends' and right now I was at the Dragon Empire Branch doing a quest for Mamoru to help out in a Kid's Vanguard tournament and to keep that slacker in check.

"Anjou. Where should I take this?" I asked Tokoha,one of the people in charge of organizing the event where to put the box that I was carrying an my arms.

"Oh,that. You can put it over there." She pointed out to a spot in the ground and I went there and placed the box in the spot as I kept doing my job. "But I'm surprised that you're helping us out, Shindou." Tokoha wasn't expecting me to be here.

"Mamoru-san was the one who asked me to help out in case that Branch chief of yours decides to escape his job again to goof off." I told her with a sigh as I reminded myself of my new job as the Dragon Empire's Branch Chief new hunting hound.

"Why would my brother ask you to catch him? He is always handling that goofer." Tokoha asked me as she believed that her brother could handle him like always.

"You would be amazed of how many times Ryutaro-san wants to try and skip his work. It has already been 17 times this week that your brother called me out to capture him when he couldn't find him. I even got called during luch break once and I didn't get to eat my bento because of him." I told her with a big sigh. " On the bright side, I recieve points each time I catch that slacker,but it get's annoying after a while, specially if it costs me my lunch." I finished with another big sigh as her brother was walking in our direction.

"And the fact that he's actually very popular with the kids." I heard Mamoru telling Tokoha and me how I was a kids magnet. "Mamoru-san,don't tell me that Oyama-san has escaped from his office again." I asked him with a sigh as I was about to go to capture mode.

"Not yet,he has been behaving like a role model ever since you became his personal hunter, Ryuga-kun." He said as I did not believe that Oyama Ryutaro had a change of heart.

"He better be,otherwise I swear that one of these days I will kick him in the nuts." I swore that if he kept skipping work, I would kick him myself.

We kept doing our jobs as I gave instructions to the kids to put the paper flowers when I saw a woman in a suit with her suitcase walking over to the stage.

"Akane-san!" Tokoha went running to her as Mamoru told who she is and her relationship with his little sister.

"So Anjou has a close chilhood friend huh? Now I'm feeling jealous of her." I said as I didn't had one and most people back there.

"But today is the last day that Akane-kun will be working with us." Mamoru said with a small sigh.

"What do you mean?" I asked him.

"Akane-kun will be leaving tomorrow." Mamoru answered me.

"Does she know?" I asked him refering to Tokoha as I pointed at her.

"I haven't told her yet, but she most likely knows about it from Akane-kun." Mamoru answered.

"I see." I replied to him as he left, but a few minutes later I was aproached by the person that was just mentioned.

"Do you need anything from me Akane-san?" I asked her with a curious look.

"You see..." She explained me the situation with the constructions that were about to take place.

"I will get it after my shift is over during my break." I accepted the quest as I went for the park were the item was burried.

* * *

Anjou Tokoha's P.O.V

(Park)

I was on the way to Card Capital 2 to take on a new quest until I saw a construction site near the park when I saw a very familiar tree.

"Isn't that the place where Akane-san and I buried the Treasure Box ?" I remembered everything as I went too the site near the hole to see if the box was still there.

"Miss,what are you doing there? It's dangerous over there." One of the workers warned me as I tried to look for any signs of the box.

"Excuse me, did you happen to dig up a cookie box that was under that tree?" I asked them as I told more details of the item that I was looking for." I buried it there with a dear friend of mine a long time ago. We placed treasures in it..." I finished speaking as I wanted to hear if they've found the box or not.

"Treasures? Did you see anything like that?" He asked his co-worker who said 'Nah' in response.

"No,huh? Sorry." I bowed a bit and apologized and was about to leave sadly when the person who said 'Nah' remembered something.

"Now that you mention it..." He tried to talk to the girl who was leaving with her head down. "Wait Miss!" He called me as I turned my head in his direction.

"Now that I think of it, a boy came by an hour ago before we started our work and digged a spot near the tree and took a box with him." He told me what happened before they started to take the tree.

'Who could have done that? And most importantly, how did that person knew about the box?' I asked to myself as I decided to look for details about the person who took mine and Akane-san's Treasure Box.

"Can you give me a description of the person who took it,please?" I asked politely as I still wondered who did that and why.

"It was a boy." He began to describe the person who took it, "He was about your age and he had a weird hair." his co-worker gave the rest of the description of the person who took it.

"Yeah, he had a red hair that was swirly and had green eyes." I gasped as the only person in my book who matched that description was Shindou Ryuga.

'Shindou did it?' I thought in disbelieve as my temper shortened a bit due to the fact that he ran away from us when all Kumi-chan wanted was to invite him to eat ice cream with us to thank him for helping us and ask for his opinion about the flavours since there was a rumour that he only eats in places that are really good and makes those famous amongs a few thugs that pays really well for the foods due to their cheap prices, 'Do not get mad at him Tokoha,this must be another misunderstanding as usual.' I recently did not found myself blaming him each time he was somehow in a situation that seemed to be created by him.

"For now I will just go to Card Capital where he most likely is and take back the box." I went to the usual shop.

* * *

Shindou Ryuga's P.O.V

(Card Capital 2)

I had a lot of battles,fighting thugs,cardfighting a Stalker (Hibuki sneezes in front of Kanzaki), having to put up with Kamui and Tsuneto's foolish remarks.

But nothing was compared to the great war that I had with this metal tin that was more dirty in rust than a rotten milk whose date was out of vality. It was a hard task, but I've done it after 45 minutes!

"And done." It wasn't easy, but I managed to clean up the damn thing.(I'm so good at cleaning stuff.)

"Ryuga. What is that box?" Kamui asks me with curiosity not knowing what it was.

"It's a time machine box Kamui-san." I told him about the quest when Tokoha entered the store with a sulky expression on her face when she saw me and aproached us.

"What are you doing with this?" Tokoha pointed her finger at the tin and asks me as she seemed to be a bit mad at me. "I'm taking this back."

"Not so fast." I quickly stopped her tracks, "Didn't Akane-san told you about this?" I asked her as she made a confused expression.

"What are you talking about?" Tokoha asked with confusion in her face.

"I see. So you really don't know. Let's go to Akane so that she can explain it to you, see you later Kamui-san." I went to the Dragon Empire with Tokoha and the box.

(Dragon Empire brach)

"It looks good as new." Akane stated as she saw the box in her hands. "You didn't needed to clean it up."

"You never specified the state that I had to hand over the item,so I decided to clean it up as you can see." I replied.

"I almost believed that Shindou stole it to sell it for points to a stranger." Tokoha said that without holding back her low opinion about me.

"Did you really think that I would go that low?" I said with the same depressed face that Hashirama does in Naruto. "I may do some nasty stuff once in a while,but I would never stoop that low." I finished with a sulky face.

"Sorry,I didn't mean to say it like that." Tokoha quickly apologizes as Akane laught at the sight and we looked at her with faces that demanded answers.

"It's like watching a quarel between little kids." She told us as we didn't find the situation amusing.

"Putting that asides." I changed the subject. "Is it something precious to the both of you that is inside the box?" I asked out of curiosity.

"It is a women's secret Ryuga-kun." Akane said as I got more curious about it's contents.

"It is something that Akane-san and I promissed to do when we grew up." Tokoha tells me what was the deal with the box and a childhood promise.

"Don't make such hollowed promises,that may never come true." I told them in a serious tone that took them back a bit.

"Shindou! That was rude!" Tokoha yelled at my blunt comment.

"I know it better from life that when something is lost,it never comes back,no matter how much you want it to return." I said in an unusual serious tone for their surprise. "The same applies to promises of when you grow up,so you should keep it right now before it's too late." Tokoha considered what I said and decided to fight Akane,but we got interrupted by a staff member who reminded us that our shift was coming right up and Akane had to leave.

"We also have to go back to finish the decorations, Anjou." I reminded the green-haired girl that we still had a job to do. "I just hope that the Branch chief can actually be in his chair for today and tomorrow, otherwise this will be another day of hunting for me."

"Oh no! We'll be late! Let's go Shindou!" At that we left running and went back to work on the preparations for the event.

* * *

(Next day)

(Dragon Empire branch)

I was on the the lookout in case that anything unexpected happened when I saw Tokoha who seemed to be with her head in the clouds in thought.

"You seem to be distracted." I caught her off guard as she leaves the clouds, "Is it about Akane-san's departure?" I asked her as she snapped out of her thoughts.

"How do you know?" She asked sounding angry.

"Mamoru-san told me about it yesterday,so what are you going to do about it? Fight her one last time or let your promise go to waste?" I asked her as the green-haired girl got mad with my words.

"What do you even know!?" She snaps at me for my surprise since I don't recall doing anything to annoy her except running away from paying her and Kumi a dessert. "You must think that you are some kind of 'perfect' person don't you,Shindou Ryuga!?"

'Perfect? I wish it was that simple.' I thought as I wished that things were always peacefull for me...what? I don't wish to get involved in unecesseary troubles if it can be avoided.

"I actually envy you a lot,you know? " I said surprising her. "I don't have any friends that are particulary very close to me as you have Akane-san and Okazaki." I continued to speak as Tokoha kept listening to me.

"Even with Vanguard I still haven't found a person who I could truly trust." I finished at that as Tokoha seemed to be more curious about it.

"What about Kamui-san? He is the person who I see you hanging around with the most at the shop." Tokoha probed as she believes that Katsuragi Kamui is the person who is the closest one to me.

"Kamui-san thinks that he is a mentor of some short." I sneered a bit. "But I don't really see him that way since I know that I'm stronger than him. He brags to much about himself and that makes me wonder if he is actually trying to think of himself as a powerfull individual when he knows that he isn't." I finished giving my opinion about that super child as she chuckled at that comment.

"Are you in a better mood now?" I saw that she calmed down from her previous mood and coughed to hide the fact that she laughed at my blunt comment about Kamui. "Why do you think that is not a good idea to see Akane-san?"

"You see. Things have changed between us as the years passed and I don't think that she feels the same as me." Tokoha shares her concerns to me about her friendship with Akane-san.

'Sometimes bonds are the deadliest of weapons.I wouldn't be surprised if I saving my friends here would be the cause of my death.' I had a small morbid thought that came as a joke. I looked at the kids who were playing and I decided to stroke her head with a headpat like Rean from Sen no Kiseki or Trails of Cold Steel series that I was playing a few weeks ago does to other girls in order to relieve them from their worries.

"What are you doing?!" Tokoha was not pleased by my action and escapes from my headpat.

"No matter how much time passes, a person's true self and relationships never changes and your childhood relantionship with Akane-san is proof of that." I told her as she began to consider my words, "The best thing for you to do right now is to convey your feelings of friendship and fulfill your promise, Tokoha." I said her first name as I meant business with my advice.

"But I still have to help out in the managing of the event." She still had doubts about leaving the managing of the event.

"Go for it.I will cover up for you." I told her to go as she was still having doubts. "She's a friend that you might never see again right?" I asked her as she still seemed to made up her mind about it. "This might be the fight that you were looking forward to have with her, so don't waste this oportunity,follow your passion and return with a smile in your face after you beat her." I finished encouraging her to go and enjoy her last time with her friend.

"Sorry for this Shindou, can you please take my workload and borrow your bike?" She asked me while bowing as her mind was made up to go.

"Go already before I change mind. You can also take my bike, but I want it back in one piece when you return, also don't bow, it makes it look like you did something wrong." I waved off my hand as telling her to go already as she took one of the FICAs at the table without looking and left to the airport as I did the same afterwards.

"Hey mister, can you help me improve a bit for the tournament?" A kid asked me if I could help him.

"Sure,let me take out my deck an...what ?" I asked in surprise as I the FICA's line colours and to make sure of that I saw the cards in the deck with widened eyes.

"What's wrong mister?" The kid asked me as I got out of my surprised state.

"Nothing,let's go to that table!" I took the child's hand and walked him to the table.

'Should I give her a call about it?' I thought for a moment as I had my phone in my hand about to call her, 'Nah. I'm sure that she will have fun with this unexpected turn of events.' I thought as the situation would be quite amusing for her when their fight begins.

* * *

Anjou Tokoha's P.O.V

I managed to caught up with Akane-san before her flight departed and right now we were about to fight to settle our promise from childhood until I noticed somethind odd about my FICA.

"Hm? What's going on?" I whispered as I took a notice of the FICAs colors and took a deck out of it.

'This deck! It's Shindou's.' I was holding a Gear Chronicle deck that belonged to the swirl.

"How did this happen?" I whispered to myself when I saw Shindou's deck.

"What's wrong Tokoha?" Akane-san asked me when she saw me staring at the deck for a while.

"Why is Shindou's deck doing in the place of mine?" I asked to myself in vain.

'Could it be that I picked his FICA instead of mine by accident?' I concluded as it was the only explanation for this.

'Whatever,how hard could be to use his deck?' I thought as I searched my memories of how the red-haired boy fought against the bully at school, Kumi-Chan, the thug at the alley and the not so forgettable Underworld King AKA Ichimaru Daisuke.

"Stand Up! Vanguard" We shouted at the same time.

"Tick-Tock Dracokid!" I stood up Shindou's starting Vanguard.

"Libergal!" She stood up her Vanguard.

"That unit is Gear Chronicle?!" Akane-san asked me not understanding why I had a Gear Chronicle deck. "Where did you get it,Tokoha?"

"It seems that when I parted ways with Shindou,I accidently took his FICA instead of mine." I said with a bit of shame at my carelessness.

"My flight will leave in 45 minutes, so you can't afford to go back and pick your deck." Akane-san pointed out as I had no time to leave and return.

"In that case let's fight!." I said as the fight started.

* * *

Shindou Ryuuga's P.O.V

"I attack your Vanguard." The kid's Blond Ezel's attack landed on Ahsha as I placed the sixth card in my damage zone.

"It's my loss,good fight." I praised the kid who managed to beat me in this fight and shook his hand.

'It's quite vexing having to loose on purpose, but the kid's smiles are worth it.' I thought as the kid left with a smile in his face and I saw Mamoru aproaching me.

"Do you need me to do anything else Mamoru-san ?" I asked if he came to give me the next set of instructions or do my 'real' job.

"No, I just wanted to tell you to make a small pause." He and I took a seat near the stage. We didn't said anything for a minute then Mamoru decided to break the silence.

"Thank you for what you did for Tokoha." Mamoru thanked me as I made a questioning look.

"What are you thanking me for?" I asked him as I had no idea what he was talking about.

"Tokoha told me what happened last week regarding the latest Under Quest that you took against Daisuke-kun and the danger that she and her friend were in." He told that his sister had explained what transpired last week regarding the Underworld King's quest.

'So she told him huh? Annoying weed,but it doesn't seem that he is here to give me a lecture.' I thought as I still felt bad about what happened last week.

"It's fine,it was my fault that she and Okazaki got involved in the first place." I continued as he kept listening. "And don't worry I already stopped doing those."

"By the way,why did you use Neo Nectar in that fight just now?" He asked me as he never saw me using Neo Nectar.

"You see..." I explained him about Tokoha's accidental switch without mentioning the headpat,I don't want to get killed by the big bother yet.

"I see,so Tokoha went to fight Akane-kun not knowing that she had your deck with her." He understands what happened with our FICAs.

"Yup,that is the entire summary." I nooded in agreement.

"What do you think of Tokoha as a fighter?" Mamoru asked me.

'Why would he ask me something like that?' I thought not understanding the real reason behind that question.

"I saw her fight once,but it doesn't seem that she is actually serious about Vanguard. She is just playing around." I told him my opinion about Tokoha as a fighter. "If she and I were to fight, she would loose to me since she doesn't has any intentions of trying to go at me seriously as an individual." I stated as Mamoru's face didn't change one bit from what I was telling him about his sister. " I don't mean that she won't go serious at me,in fact, it seems that she would just play as usual and I'm not interested in that kind of fight.I always fight for a reason."

"So you noticed it." He told me with an unusual serious tone, "A long time ago Tokoha and I used to fight regularly,but all that changed one day when she suddenly started to avoid fighting me and that left me a bit sad." he finished with an almost sad face and I saw a familiar mascot looking for challengers.

'Not this again.' I thought as Ryutaro was skipping on his job again and posing as Vangarou to fight other people. Don't get me wrong,Mamoru has been giving me a raise in the form of extra points for catching the Branch Chief when he cuts off work,but it get's annoying sometimes.

'Gotta do what I gotta do.' I sighed as I was about to go to capture mode.

"Mamoru-san,I hate to interrupt your memory trip but isn't that the Branch Chief?" He turned his head as he saw Vangarou trying to challenge the kids to fights, "Shouldn't he be working right now?" I asked Mamoru as he sighed at his chief escaped from work once again.

"Ryuga-kun could you please drag him back to the staff,I really don't have the time to deal with him right now." Mamoru asked me to escort Vangarou to the building.

"Does that add more points for me?" I asked what I wanted as Vangarou was challenging a kid to a fight.

"Yes,but for now...Branch chief!" Mamoru yelled at Vangarou as Ryutaro turned around and saw us and ran away.

"After him,Ryuga-kun!" Mamoru ordered me as I got up to go after the slacker.

"For the points!" With that I went after Vangarou. He tried to hide from me but to no avail as I caught up with him really quickly for his dissmay.

"I refuse to go back to the desk! I wanna fight!" Vangarou started to wine as the children saw his act.

"Is that Mister bullying Vangarou-kun ?" One of the kids asks as he saw Vangarou shaking in fear.

"No,Ryuga-kun is only trying to challenge Vangarou-kun for a fight isn't that right,Ryuga-kun?" Mamoru helped me out as I decided to go along with the script.

"Yeah. I really wanted to fight Vangarou-kun in order to show how much fun fights could be." I said with a huge smile in my face.

"Really?" Vangarou asked us surprised as he was sure that I was there to beat him up again as I went near him and whispered.

"If I win,you're going back to work Branch chief,but if you defeat me,you can have the rest of the day off." I said with a smirk.

"Let's fight! Fight!" Ryu-I mean Vangarou expressed his will to battle against me for the generous offer that he was given.

We both went to a table and started to shuffle our decks as the children watched us while learning how to have a fun fight right before their tournament.

"This is going to be a fight between Shindou Ryuga-kun and Vangarou-kun." A staff member "No matter who win or looses the most important thing is to have fun while fighting."

"Stand Up! Owari No Vanguard!" I shouted.

"Stand Up! Vanguard!" Vangarou/Ryutaro shouted.

"Spring-Heralding Maiden, Ozu!" A small maiden appeared on the battlefield.

"Harbinger Dracokid!" The dragon of the other week appeared in front of the maiden to the dragon's surprise as he was expecting another opponent.

"Neo Nectar?! That's not Gear Chronicle!" Ryutaro in the Vangarou costume yelled with his real voice as he didn't expected this.

"Yup,for today I will fight you with Anjou Tokoha's deck,so get ready to loose and go back to work,you slacker!" I told him with a grin as he took his first turn.

* * *

Anjou Tokoha's P.O.V

(2 Hours later)

(Dragon Empire's Branch)

"Sorry for leaving like that,brother." I bowed in apology to my brother for leaving all of a sudden.

"Ryuga-kun already told me about it so don't worry." He replied to me, "Did you have fun using Gear Chronicle against Akane-san?"

"How do you know about that?" I asked him why he knew.

"Ryuga-kun told me about your accidental change and while you were gone,he used yours to defeat the Branch chief and dragged him back to work." He said with a pleased expression, "He managed to beat the Branch chief with it." He repeats with happiness at his boss's fate after he lost.

"Really?" I didn't believe that Shindou had beaten the Branch chief with my deck.

"He wielded your units like he already knew how to fight with them." He said as he was pleased that his new trump card to catch his boss was very usefull.

'I barely managed to win against Akane-san while having troubles using his deck,but he defeated the Branch Chief without any troubles while using mine. Am I that weaker than Shindou?' I asked to myself when the person in question decided to show up.

"It seems that everything went well between the two of you." Shindou said as he was carrying four foldable chairs in his arms.,"May I take my FICA and deck back,Anjou?"

"Here. I had no idea that Gear Chronicle was so hard to use." I said to him as we traded our FICAs.

"It's not that hard to use." He answered me as I didn't agree with him in that regard.

"It was hard to use it,specially that Chronoscommand of yours and by the way,why didn't you called an told me about the switch?" I asked him the why of not mentioning about the switch.

"You seemed that you wanted to have a good time with Akane-san,so I didn't dared to interrupt your time together." Shindou said that he wanted us to enjoy the fight,so he didn't said anything about it after noticing it. "Anjou,can you lend me a hand here?" Shindou changed the subject as he handed me two of the chairs to help him store them.

"Sure." With that I helped carrying the other chairs and went with him back to the building,but we heard someone calling out for Shindou.

"Fight me Ryuga-kun with Gear Chronicle!" The Branch Chief had escaped his pris- I mean workplace again.

"Oh for the love of...GET BACK TO WORK!" My brother and Shindou groaned in despair.

"Let's just ignore him and let Mamoru-san handle this before I go there myself and kick his balls." Shindou said with an exausted expression.

"I had enought fights for a day." With that I went with him as my brother watched us alongside the Vangarou that he caught.

* * *

Shindou Ryuga's P.O.V

(A few days later)

I have recieved another letter from Ibuki that was handed me over by a person that got a quest to deliver it to me and I was pleased with the new support,but today I was not pleased,in fact today I am going to be the babysiter of Jaime Alcaraz, a representitive of Euro League not to mention the biggest goofer here after Kamui himself.

"He was supposed to be here an hour ago so where the hell is he?" I said as I was still waiting for the goofer to show up.

"I feel it in my heart!" I heard a voice of someone who seemed to be excited about something, "This is a chochin! It used to be a lantern. Made of paper."

'There he is.' I thought as Jaime was amazed by the chochin,but he didn't stopped there.

"Why do these statues have such scary faces? Grrr" He said to my shame as he kept looking at the statues.

"Why do I have to be the poor soul who has to take care of this idiot?" I whispered to myself as Jaime kept his ramble and stopped when he saw my FICA and began to look at me with a lot of focus.

'Is it too late to drop this quest?' I thought to myself as Jaime made a grin.

'Damn,he saw me.' Jaime began to jump with one leg until he reached me.

"Hi amigo! You're the one who accepted my quest,right?" Jaime asked me as it was already too late to escape.

"Yes,unless you are not Jaime Alcaraz,the person you are looking for is not me." I told him with a deadpan look on my face as he kept looking at me.

"I'm Jaime Alcaraz! Nice to meet you...huh?" Jaime gave his intro but he didn't know my name.

"Shindou Ryuga,it's nice to meet you as well Jaime-san." I introduced myself to him as well without adding the "J" letter in his name.

"Don't use honorifics,it makes me seem like an old person!" Jaime suddenly yells,shocking me a bit of how fast he did it so.

"This is going to be a long day." I muttered to none as we started our sightseeing.

Most of the stuff that we did was buying gifts from the local shops as Jaime also wanted to eat the local foods in Japan which came out of my pocket because the idiot had forgotten that the currency in Japan was the yen instead of the Euro and didn't made a money conversion for his trip.

(25 minutes later)

"Are you out of your mind!?" I yelled at him for trying to flirt with 4 girls at once in front of their boyfriends.

"Those girls were so cute Ryuga!" Jaime tried to reason with me, "How could I have resisted to try and make them fall for me?" He finishes with a dumb smile on his face.

"Because of you,I had to kick their boyfriend's butts in order to protect you from their wrath that you earned yourself!" I sneered at him as he was hugging his knees in the ground.

"Oh, is that a Rickshaw?" Jaime changed the subject as I saw a cart that seemed to have been carefully crafted.

'This Rickshaw is quitte well done for the usual imitations that are lurking around this country.' I said to myself as I saw Jaime looking at me like a child who wanted to ask for a new toy from their parent's pocket.

"I get it,just hop into it." I paid the money to the person who would carry us both. We talked about a few subjects related to Vanguard until my attention was caught by a certain rich kid in a limousine.

"Shindou." Shion called my attention. "What are you doing there?"

"Being his babysiter for a day,Kiba." He raised his eyebrow.

"A babysiter of who? And in a rickshaw?" He asked as he saw us both in the rickshaw.

"The guy right here." I pointed my finger at Jaime as he didn't seem to mind it, "I am doing a quest to show him around Japan and it's culture,but all he really wants to do is shopping around and flirt wit-Again?!" I couldn't believe that he was flirting with another girl in front of her big brother who kept glaring at him and **me**.

'Why are you glaring at me as well?' I thought as Jaime tried to propose to her.

"Knock it off!" I gave Jaime a iron grip in his head,making him turn to us in pain.

Kiba and I spoke for a few minutes and somehow this became a competition between Jaime and Shion that ended with our victory thanks to the knowledge of the streets that our driver had. A few minutes later we happened to stumble upon Tokoha who was in her school uniform.

"Shindou." Tokoha spoke my name when she saw me with Jaime.

"Anjou." I replied back when Jaime was looking at her with his usual look.

"What a cutie!" He threw himself at Tokoha who made a weird look at him.

"My name is Jaime Alcaraz!" He introduces himself to Tokoha, "What's your first name,senorita?" and finishes by asking her first name.

'Not again. This is the sixth time already.' I thought with a sigh.

"Tokoha." She said not pleased by the flirt.

"Maybe we can g-" Jaime didn't get to finish as I grabbed his head with my hand and applied a strong grip in it once again.

"Ouch,ouch that hurts Amigo!" Jaime yelled in pain as he let go of his shopping bags.

"This is already the 6th time that you try to flirt with a girl in public,so give it a rest already!" I scolded him as I released his head from my grip.

"Hey,Shindou. What's with this guy?" Tokoha asked me what was the deal with Jaime.

"He's an idiot,so don't take anything that he says seriously,Anjou." I answered her as she gave Jaime a weird look as he seemed like he was about to laugh.

"I feel it in my heart!" He yelled his slogan as we looked at him with deadpan looks in our faces.

"You're right,he is an idiot." Tokoha whispered to me as I nod in agreement.

"I will shoot a arrow through your heart and make you fall for me!" Jaime makes his second atempt at a flirt.

"Hey,Shindou! Can't you do anything about this?!" Tokoha asked me if I could take care of this. "Can't you just beat him up out of it or something?"

'Even if you ask,I really doubt that would work with this idiot. He is not the kind who learns from being beaten up.' I sighed in thought. 'All I can do right now is to apologize to her for his behavior, how embarassing.'

"Tokoha. Fall in love with me!" Jaime tried to flirt with her once again.

"Shindou!" Tokoha yelled my name again as I was starting to get a headache from all of this.

'Why me?' I thought as my head started to hurt a bit from the stress.

"I'm so sorry about this. We will be leaving now." I told her as I felt pity for her as my face was a bit red from shame as I dragged Jaime with me from another girl...again.

'At least he didn't do so in front of her brother,otherwise there would be hell for him.' I thought as I imagined Anjou Mamoru covered in flames staring at Jaime.

"Give me a call! I will send you flowers!" Jaime shouted to her as I dragged him away from Tokoha and went to another place.

"What a weirdo." Tokoha said as we left her sight.

(7 minutes later)

He and I continued our small adventure and saw a kid who was trying to challenge another one who was refusing to fight because he believed that his challenger was still weaker than him.

"You can never know until the two of you fight it out." I meddled in their chat as Jaime just observed me.

"But I always beat him,so the outcome will be the same." He aswered me with a bored tone.

"No it won't!" The other kid replied with a strong fire in his eyes.

"If you win I will buy you two sweets,after the fight is over that is." I said to the two of them not specifying the winner,not that they would have realize it.

"Really?" He asks.

"Do I look a liar to you?" I asked with a serious look in my face.

"Then I will do it." He agreed to fight as the other kid smiled.

We watched their fight and as I and Jaime expected the challenger had won for his opponent's surprise.

"As promissed here's your sweets." I handed them a few snacks for them to eat.

"But I lost the fight so why did you gave sweets for the both of us." He asked me why I broke (from his point) my word.

"I never said that you had to be the one to win." I told him as he realized something.

"You tricked me?" He said with a fummed face as I whistled in response and we left them afterwards.

"Amigo how did you know who would have won?" Jaime asked me since he had come to the same conclusion as me earlier.

"How did I know?" Jaime asked me how I knew, "Simple. A fight's outcome can never be predicted until it is fought and from the looks of the kid,he had what it took to do it."

"In other words,you weren't sure,weren't you,Amigo?" Jaime knew that I wasn't sure of who would have won.

"That's right!" I replied to him, "There was no way I could have known, after all,Vanguard is so unpredictable sometimes." I said with a silly grin.

(Bridge)

Jaime and I kept walking until he stopped.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

"By the way,Ryuga." He began to talk to me, "What kind of deck do you use?" Jaime asked me as I just took the Deck out of my FICA and showned to him.

"Gear Chronicle?! This is the first time I've seen it!" He said in surprise when he saw my 'Chronojet Dragon' card ,"Let's fight! Fight!"

"Not happening." I refused to fight.

"Why?" He asks.

"I have no interest in fighting a player who tries to flirt with every girl that he sees." I told him with some sarcasm.

"Found you!" Jaime heard a voice that came from the end of the bridge whose owner was Anjou Mamoru.

"Mamoru-san why are you here? " I asked Tokoha's brother and Jaime atempted to escape but, "And where do you think you're going?" I grabbed his head with my iron grip once again as he was stuggling to get out of it and Mamoru aproached us.

"Let me guess,he was supposed to meet you a while ago and escaped your grasps,so you were looking for him and now you've found him at last?" I asked Mamoru as he nod in response and explained what was actualy going on and why Jaime was in Japan in the first place.

'Why do I have to be the one who deals with the goofers around here?' I thought as images of Ryutaro and Jaime appeared in my head.

"You can have him after he signs my FICA and gives me a copy of his autograph." I let Jaime go as he signed my FICA and gave me a physical copy of his autograph.

'I'm so going to sell this to Tsuneto for a fat pig.' I thought of making extra money for later uses.

"Here." Mamoru handed me a ticket.

"What's this?" I asked him as I checked the contents of the ticket in my hand.

"It's a ticket to VIP seats in the Interleague match." Mamoru said with his usual expression , "Consider it a reward for always helping us to catch the Branch chief when he tries to escape from work."

"I can't accept it,this must be quite expensive." I tried to refuse but Mamoru insisted that I would go to watch the fight and they left leaving me by myself.

'I might as well go back home." With that I went to the appartment complex.

* * *

(Next day)

(Vanguard Stadium VIP seats)

In the next day I went to the Vanguard Stadium and submited my ticket to a staff member who took me to the VIP seats and saw Tokoha,Shion and Kumi that were already sitting in the confortable chairs.

"Shindou why are you here?" Tokoha asked me why I was in the VIP room.

"Your brother offered me a ticket to watch this fight." I told her what happened after we left her yesterday as I took the seat in the middle of her and Shion.

"To think that the person who tried to flirt with me was the famous uppercoming fighter. Jaime Alcaraz." She said with a small deadpan face.

"I also didn't know who he was at first,then I investigated a bit and found out myself." Shion says.

"I'm surprised that both you and Kiba didn't know who he was." I said with a bit of surprise. "I was pretty sure that you had least knew about Jaime."

"You knew?" Shion asks as I nod my head.

"Don't you people try to keep up with the scoops of who are the best and upcoming fighters in the world?" I asked them as I was sure that these two would have known something like that.

"Who are the strongest fighters in the world Shindou-kun?" Kumi asked from her seat.

"The current strongest fighters in the world are no doubt Sendou Aichi and Kai Toshiki from Team Q4 that Kamui-san and Misaki-san are a part of." I answered her , "In terms of strenght,Kamui-san is the weakest,then Misaki-san comes next and after that it is said that Sendou Aichi and Kai Toshiki are evenly matched. I would like to have a chance to fight either one of them." I finished with an excited face.

"You had a chance to fight my brother." The green-haired girl stated a very well known fact, " He is one of the best fighters of this country."

"There was no point in accepting a match like that." I answered as I gave her a headpat,annoying her.

"Don't you know that it's rude to stroke a girl's head?!" Tokoha was mad at me once again because I stroked her green hair.

"Really? According to a videogame, the Main Character is always doing that and they really seem to enjoy it,was I wrong?" I said in confusion as I almost believed that Rean was doing a very wrong thing to do.

"What kind of game teaches that?" Shion inquires as I told him the name of the game and series. After a few minutes and commercial breaks the announcement of the fight had began.

"The match is about to start." I said as I was going to watch Jaime hammer Mamoru. The fight between them was even and when Mamoru retired all of Jaime's rear-guards he didn't panic.

'Mamoru is good,but most of his moves would only be effective against inexperienced fighters and that won't work on me.' I said as Mamoru used his usual pattern.

"Go brother,you are almost there!" Tokoha was cheering for her brother.

"No. Mamoru-san is finished." I told her,making her glare at me for my lack of faith in her brother.

"My brother hasn't lost yet." Tokoha says as she thinks that her brother has the situation under control, "And he has no rear-guards right now,so it will be over soon."

"That is not true. Jaime has been keeping multi-attacking type units in his hand knowing that this would happen." I pointed out as we kept watching the fight.

"How,Shindou-kun?" Kumi asks as Kiba just decided to hear my opinion about the current situation.

"Because Jaime must have studied his fight style beforehand and knows how Mamoru-san battles." I replied as I thought of Mamoru's tactics and how to counter them. And each one of them went as I expected.

"Just watch and see what happens next." And as it turned out that I was right and Jaime used his remaining hand to call allies after striding Lambros.

"The fight is not over yet, Shindou." Tokoha was trying to go against my prediction of the outcome of this fight.

"Normally yes,but with Lambros on the field the sixth point of damage is already ensured for Mamoru-san." I said a foregone conclusion as the fight procedeed.

"Call! Tidal Assault (G2/9000),Magnum Assault (G2/9000),Accelerated Command (G1/6000) and Kelpie Rider,Polo (G1/8000)." Jaime's units appeared on the battlefield as Accelerated increased Tidal Assaults power by 2000 (11000).

"Yup it's over." I said with a neutral expression.

"It's never over until the sixth damage,Shindou!" Tokoha answers back.

"Tidal Assault attacks (11000) ! " Tidal destroys the unit to prevent a intercept later.

"Magnum Assault (17000) attacks your Vanguard " Magnum shoots his magnums at Blademaster.

"Guard!" Mamoru guards.

"Magnum stands and aims at your Vanguard once again." Magnum retries the same attack against Dragonic Blademaster.

"Intercept!" He intercetps the attack.

"Lambros attacks your Vanguard (26000) ! Skill I stand Tidal and Magnum !" Tidal and Magnum standed up ready to finish the job.

"An Aqua Force combo attack huh?" Mamoru said to Jaime ,"But,I will protect my Vanguard!" He places a 'Protect Orb Dragon(G1/6000/Sentinel)' to block the water dragon.

"He blocked it." Shion as he believes that Mamoru still had the game.

"No." I disagreed as Tokoha kept glaring at me, " Tidal will be able to attack 2 more times in addition of Magnum's attack." I corrected him as Jaime was about to perform his trigger checks.

"I have already seen that,so it won't work on me." Jaime said.

"Triple Drive!" He revealed 2 critical triggers shocking Mamoru and most of the audience as the effects went to Tidal assault (21000/Crit 3)

 _ **"Two critical triggers in a row! The tables have been turned!"**_ The announcer said as Jaime aimed at the Vanguard with the Tidal Assault.

"No guard." Mamoru didn't guard as Tidal slashed Dragonic Blademaster destroying it as the sixth card was placed in Mamoru's damage zone.

 **" 6 damage! "** The announcer declared Jaime's Victory as all of us aplauded his victory over Mamoru.

"Told ya."I teased as Tokoha showed her tongue in response.

"Tokoha-chan." Kumi had to calm down Tokoha as Shion laughed at our argument of who would have won.

"Kamui-san is now owning me 50000 yen from this bet." I said as Kamui felt that his fat pig was about to get really slim.

"Gambling again!?" Tokoha yells at me.

"Did you learned nothing from doing stuff like that!?" Shion gave me a strange look with his eyebrows raised.

"What could you be talking about?" I whistled, "Asides,it is a little spice to keep up the morale." I shamelessly lied as Tokoha just sighed and didn't said anything else and a few minutes later we all left and I went to the train with Kamui who was trying to avoid to pay his new debt as he kept making new subjects to distract me.

(Train)

"Man what a great fight." Kamui said as we were on the train back to Asakusa's Station,"They sure picked the right guy to represent the Euro League,that fight was on a whole different level than usual."

"I agree,the intensity of that fight was certainly different of what I usually do when fighting others." I said as I kept thinking of how life would go for me at this point.

"That kind of stuff only happens in a high level fight." Kamui said as I got a feeling that he would brag about himself being strong and the usual crap that he spouts.

"So,if I reach grade 3 I can take on higher level fighters in tournaments ?" I asked Kamui as he make a cocky face.

"That's only you reach higher grades than that." Kamui answered as he kept bragging, "You still have a lot of ways to go before fighting in the big leagues like me."

'Yeah right,you pinocchio!' I thought as I imagined Kamui's nose growing...a lot.

"Are you saying that you are a better fighter than me because your grade is in a different league than mine?" I asked him a bit offended by that comment.

"Thta's right! You are still a greenhorn compared to me, " Kamui went on with his brag as I decided to put an end to his great moment.

"Even though that officially we are not at the same level,I am always mooping the floor with you Kamui-san." I stomped the harsh truth into him.

"That's only luck!" He quickly rebutes as he kept using 'luck' as a pretext to justify his countless defeats against me.

"Really? I have already beated you 35 times in a row,never loss to you and you call that luck?" I said with a smirk as his face went down in shame, "And remember that time when you thought that Nagisa-san had decieved me,you tried to knock some 'sense' into me just to recieve my counter cross that made you faint and bleed from your noise in exchange ?"

"Don't remind me of that!" Kamui yelled in shame ," You stabbed both of us in the back just to get points." pointing his finger at me as I smirked.

"It was your fault for not placing a placing a restriction to not accept any quests from her and you also stabbed me in the back with Trinity Dragon." I reminded him of the only thing that he did to piss me off, "You hired them without letting me know and as a result the poor lizards got beaten by me."

"And I gave you the points when you didn't do your job. All I wanted is for her to get off my back for an hour, but no we had to settle this in a fight." Kamui complained as he sighed.

"Then why not tell her that you have a crush on another girl?" I asked him with curiosity on my face.

"Are you joking?!" Kamui made a disbelieved face at that, "If I don't find a proper way to get her off my back, I will suffer Gouki's wrath if he ever learns about it. Besides she doesn't believe that I like another girl."

"What are you, 10 ?" I asked with a sigh as the train kept going, "Before that...pay it up,Kamui-san." I make a huge grin as he begrudgely paid the money.

* * *

(Next day)

School went by as usual and I quickly left after classes were over and went to Card Capital 2 and I accepted a quest to participate in a tourney that had the points I needed to grade up to the third grade and I found one that suited me and went to it. However I saw Jaime on the way and since his sense of direction sucked big time I had no other choice but to take him there.

"You really have no sense of direction." I told him with a sigh at his lack of direction, " And thanks to you, I missed a good quest."

"Was it a good quest?" He asked me as I showed him the quest on the FICA.

"It was a quest worthy of 200 points that I needed to become a grade 3." I replied.

"I am so sorry,Amigo." Jaime began to apologize for ruining my quest, " I will repay this desk."

"You mean debt, right ?" I corrected him as he nodded.

"Yes, Amigo!" He said with his usual silly smile.

(Orphanage)

We arrived at an Orphanage that was owned by an old acquaintance of Jaime's since he was a child.

'This sure brings me a lot of memories about my childhood,some good and bad,but mostly memories of loneliness.' I thought as I recalled verything that happened since I was reborn in this world as the main character of this series. 'But from now on,I won't be alone and bored again.'

The kids surrounded us as I noticed that a small girl seemed like she wanted to say something.

"T-toillet." A girl who needed the toillet was trying to hang in.

"Can you tell me where is the toillet? This child needs to go there and fast!" I said worriedly.

"Amigo...You actually like kid's ?" Jaime asked me with some surprise in his voice.

"Can the owner just take her there?!" I insisted as the owner took her to the toillet a few moments later.

"As for your question,I like them because I used to live in a orphanage as well since I was 6." I told him that I used to be an orphan as well.

"I wasn't wrong about you Amigo." Jaime said all of a sudden to my surprise.

"Hm?" I asked without speaking a word.

"You are a very good person in the inside,even when you try to shield your true nature." Jaime managed to get a grasp of the person who I was in the inside.

"Can you not tell anyone about it?" I asked him not knowing that a few people around already knew what type of person I really am.

"Sure,but can you tell me how you lived your life in one?" Jaime asked me as I told him a small tale of my life in one.

"In my case there were atemps of bullying,so I had to become stronger in order to survive in such inviroment." I explained to him what kind of life I had in a place like that, " A few didn't respected me at all but as I kept fighting, instead of gaining bonds, I scared them away." We continued to play with the children and I took Jaime to the Dragon Empire Branch as he had requested and created a quest for me.

'I will have to give my best shot!" I went home with that.

* * *

(Next day)

(Classroom)

As always the class was over and when my break started,Kumi and Tokoha went to my table and the later slammed her hands against it.

"Is it true that you're going to fight Jaime Alcaraz?" Tokoha asked me and I nod my head in response.

"But why?! That's a big deal! How did you get him to agree?!" Tokoha kept her assault of questions.

"Why should I tell you?" I replied not carrying about her lashing.

"T-Tokoha-chan,calm down." Kumi told her friend to calm down but it was no use.

'Thank you for trying,Okazaki Kumi.' I silently thanked her.

"After all, we are talking Jaime! The guy who beat my brother!" She stopped as a thought came to her. "Shindou, you'd better win!" Tokoha orders me to 'avenge' her brother.

'It's just one mess after the other,just great.' I thought with a lot of sarcasm.

"I have the intention to win for myself and not for your personal vendetta." I told her as she ignored what I said.

"Can you show me your Deck for a second?" She asked if I could show her my deck.

"Fine,but don't make a big deal out of it." I took my deck and placed every card on the table in a very specific order as she and Kumi stared at my cards.

* * *

 **G-Zone**

 **1x Interdimendional Dragon, Chronoscommand Dragon**

 **4x Interdimensional Dragon, Ragnaclock Dragon**

 **2x Interdimensional Dragon, Faterider Dragon**

 **1x Snow Element, Blizza**

 **Grade 3**

 **4x Chronojet Dragon**

 **2x Ruin Disposal Dragon**

 **Grade 2**

 **4x Glimmer Breath Dragon**

 **4x Steam Knight, Puzur-Ili**

 **3x Smokegear Dragon**

 **Grade 1**

 **3x Steam Maiden, Arlim**

 **1x Steam Mage, En-narda**

 **4x Steam Breath Dragon**

 **3x Steam Striker ,Workin**

 **3x Engineer Gear, Cellius**

 **2x Masergear Dragon**

 **Grade 0**

 **4x Heart Thump Worker**

 **3x Steam Battler, Meshda**

 **2xSteam Battler, Dadasig**

 **3x Luckypot Dracokid**

 **4x Steam maiden, Uluru**

 **1x Tick-Tock Dracokid**

* * *

"You made a lot of changes to your Deck since last time." Tokoha said as she recalled the time when she had my deck and noticed that the build had changed a lot since then.

"It's only natural that I improved my deck. After all it can't stay the same forever,Anjou." I said as she kept looking for any flaws.

"So you can do a combination like this when you Stride then..." Tokoha said as she kept looking at my deck recipe as she read the texts in the cards and I noticed that Shion was about to touch one of my G-Units when I grabbed his wrist and kept it well locked as he gasped a bit in pain.

"When did I gave you permission to touch my stuff, Rich boy?" I asked him not looking at him as I increased the strenght of my grip.

"G-Good morning." Shion greeted me not offended by my comment as I weakned my grip a bit." I heard that you're going to face Jaime Alcaraz, is it true?" I released the hold.

"Who told you people about that? Could it be that you have an ear in the ground or something like that ?" I asked them as I wondered if everyone around me had ears to the ground.

"It was Kamui-san." He told me who had ratted me out. "I'm envious of you for getting that chance."

'When I see him, he will pay for opening that big mouth of his!' I swore that Kamui wouldn't get away with this. 'One thing is trying to look out for me,but gossiping about my life is another matter.'

"Have a nice fight." Shion said as I thanked him for wishing me good luck.

(Dragon Empire Branch building)

When I arrived at the red building I saw Kamui right in front of the Dragonic Overlord statue and he went in my direction to greet me as I had other things in mind right now and one of them involved me wanting to give him a piece of mine.

"Hello Ryu-" Kamui didn't get to finish what he was going to say as I gave him a punch in his stomach that almost made him vomit and kicked his nuts,in other words a man's weakest spot with a lot of strenght that forced him to fall to the ground as he was rolling while said how much that hurted.

"Wt ws tht for?" He couldn't speak properly because of the damage I gave him just now.

"That was for opening your big mouth!" I yelled at him because I had to hear a lot of complaints from other fighters that were green with envy that found out about my fight with Jaime today on my way here all thanks to this loudspeaker, "Do something like that again and it won't end up with a single punch and kick,understood?" I asked him with a very bossy tone as he nooded with a lot of pain.

"Shindou!" Tsuneto rushed at me and grabbed my collar, "What underhanded trick did you pull?!" and starts to annoy me as he says that it's not fair.

'Not fair? If I get a good chance that is not yours,it is underhanded?' I thought bitterly as I recalled the arrogant tone he had back then, ' I didn't heard you complain when you got to fight Mamoru in my place and I didn't even complain about it,you hipocryte!' I decided to retaliate against this injustice as I gave him a very hard glare.

" **Let go of my collar or I will make you**." I ordered him in a very dangerous tone as Tsuneto quickly complied to my order,knowing what would happen if he didn't as told. After that he kept making a fuss of how I got to fight one of his idols.

" Y-You didn't need to hit me that hard,Ryuga." Kamui had to make a lot of effort to get up as he still had his hand in the nut.

"You had it coming and don't try to deny it." I answered without feeling bad for him.

"Alright,just go to t-the fighters area. It hurts." Kamui told me to go to the table and went to the others who were here to watch the fight as well.

"Hi amigo!" Jaime greeted me when he saw me.

"Hi Jaime." I returned the greeting.

"D-did you come here to see the f-fight as well?" Kamui asked Tokoha and Kumi who were right next to him as his stomach was still in pain from the punch that he got for spilling the beans.

"I came to see the guy who beat my brother get whipped." Tokoha told Kamui that she came to see Jaime loose to Ryuga.

"Really? Ouch." Kamui said as he complains about his physical pain.

"Actually, I think that Shindou is the one who is going to get whipped." Tokoha said as it was a given fact.

'Thank you for the vote of confidence.' I thought.

"You don't think that Shindou-kun has a chance to win?" Kumi asked her friend.

"To be honest with you Kumi-chan, I believe that Shindou has a 50/50 percent of a chance to defeat him. We know how good he really is from what happened with the Underworld King and he evolved even further since then." Tokoha said that I had half chance to win.

"I agree,after all he is always using me to test out his new builds and manages to beat me every time we fight." Kamui said, "But that is only because I am always going very easy on him."

'Hahaha,very funny Kamui.' I thought as I was listening everything they said. ' Since when you go easy on me. Every time we fight you are always trying to put me with a few handicaps and you still loose.' I thought as I noticed that Hibuki had arrived to watch the fight.

'So you came as well, I will show you how far your small gift has taken me, Ibuki Kouji.' I thought as I looked at Hibuki and he tried to hide when he saw me looking in his direction.

"Shindou Ryuga-kun will go first, followed by Jaime Alcaraz." Mamoru explained that the field that we would be fighting in the Magallanica's ruins.

"Let's get this fight started!" I was eager to start this card battle.

"That's the spirit, Amigo!" Jaime then began to talk how fun Vanguard really is and I agreed with every word he said.

'He may be a fool,but when it comes to Vanguard,he is a genius.' I thought as the fight began.

"Stand up! Owari no Vanguard! I shouted.

"Stand up! Vanguard! Jaime shouted.

"Tick-Tock Dracokid (G0/5000)!" Tick-Tock appeared surrounded by a bubble barrier.

"Officer Cadet, Andrey (G0/5000)!" Andrey appeared but it wasn't surrounded by the same bubble as Tick-tock.

"Now show me what you've got, amigo!" Jaime invited me to attack.

 _ **Turn 1 - Shindou Ryuga**_

"You've got it! I ride Masergear Dragon (G1/8000)" Tick-Tock becomes Masergear.

"I move Tick-Tock to the back and end my turn." I ended my turn as Tick-Tock appeared behing Masergear.

* * *

 **Shindou Ryuga's Board - (Masergear Dragon- (VC) ),** **(** **Tick-Tock Dracokid** **\- (RC) behind (VG))**

 **Damage [] [] [] [] [] [] Hand:5 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone:**

 **Jaime Alcaraz's Board- (Officer Cadet, Andrey** **\- (VC) )**

 **Damage [] [] [] [] [] [] Hand:5 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone:**

* * *

 _ **Turn 2 - Jaime Alcaraz**_

"Here I go Amigo!" Jaime begins his turn by drawing a card.

"I ride Kelpie Rider,Polo (G1/8000) !" Andrey was replaced by a marine that was riding a small seahorse.

"I move Andrey to the back and call another Polo." Andrey appeared behind his Vanguard as another polo appeared in the left.

"I attack your vanguard with my rear-guard Polo (8000)." Polo sent a wave forwards Maser.

"No guard. Damage check,none [Chronojet Dragon (G3/11000)] ."The wave hit creating a smal explosion that didn't wasn't enough to destroy the bubble.

"Boosted by Andrey, Polo attacks your vanguard (13000)!" Polo followed the former's example.

"No guard." I didn't guard.

"Drive check,Get critical trigger[Supersonic Sailor(G0/4000)! All effects to my vanguard (18000/crit 2)." The wave splitted in two that hitted the bubble that exploded after the second wave connected leaving my Masergear to drow until another bubble took it's place.

"Damage check, Get Heal trigger [Steam Maiden,Uluru(G0/5000)]. All effects to my vanguard and I will heal a damage (13000). Second Check,none[Glimmer Breath Dragon (G2/9000)." Uluru's healing properties allowed Masergear to breath normally again.

"I end my turn." Jaime ended his turn.

* * *

 **Shindou Ryuga's Board - (Masergear Dragon- (VC) ),** **(** **Tick-Tock Dracokid** **\- (RC) behind (VG))**

 **Damage [** **Steam maiden Uluru** **] [** **Glimmer Breath Dragon** **] [] [] [] [] Hand:5 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone: 1x Chronojet Dragon**

 **Jaime Alcaraz's Board- (Kelpie Rider,Polo - (VC) ),** **(Officer Cadet, Andrey** **\- (RC) behind (VG)),** **(Kelpie Rider,Polo - (RC) to the left in the front row)**

 **Damage [] [] [] [] [] [] Hand:5 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone:**

* * *

 _ **Turn 3 - Shindou Ryuga**_

"Draw! Ride! Smokegear Dragon (G2/10000)" Masergear vanished in a quick light as Smokey took the former's place that was not pleased by being trapped in a bubble.

"I attack your rear-guard with my vanguard (15000)!" Smokey rushed at Polo who was not the Vanguard.

"Attacking a rear-guard instead of the Vanguard?" Tsuneto asks as he believes that attacking the Vanguard is the best choice.

"In a few situations it is for the best to aim at the rear-guards from the start." Kamui understands right away what Ryuga is aiming for as the others just watched the fight's development.

"No guard." Jaime doesn't guard this one.

"Drive check,none[Glimmer Breath Dragon (G2/9000]." Smokegear smashes Polo with the bubble that doesn't burst.

"Turn end." I ended my turn without dealing him any damage.

* * *

 **Shindou Ryuga's Board - (Smokegear Dragon - (VC) ),** **(** **Tick-Tock Dracokid** **\- (RC) behind (VG))**

 **Damage [** **Steam maiden Uluru** **] [** **Glimmer Breath Dragon** **] [] [] [] [] Hand:6 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone:** **1x Chronojet Dragon**

 **Jaime Alcaraz's Board- (Kelpie Rider,Polo - (VC) ),** **(Officer Cadet, Andrey** **\- (RC) behind (VG))**

 **Damage [] [] [] [] [] [] Hand:5 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone:1x** **Kelpie Rider,Polo** **  
**

* * *

 _ **Turn 4 - Jaime Alcaraz**_

"Stand and draw! I ride Kelpie Rider Dennis (G2/10000)!" Polo was replaced by Dennis, his next form.

"Boosted by Andrey, Dennis attacks your Vanguard (15000)!" Dennis fired lightning from it's weapon.

"No guard!" I didn't see the point of defending this one with my current hand.

"Drive check,none[Ocean Keeper,Plato (G1/6000/Sentinel)]. Jaime added the Sentinel to his hand.

"Damage check,none[Engineer Gear, Cellius (G1/7000)]." I placed the card in the damage zone as Smokey was electrocuted.

"The difference between damage is 3 already." Kumi comments as she knew that it would be hard to turn a situation like that around.

"Yeah, he has been keeping his hand in order to deal with the real wave of attacks that will come next turn." Shion says.

'What are you up to?' Ibuki asks as he sees that Ryuga is not worried despite being outmatched.

"It's your turn, Amigo." Jaime finishes his turn.

* * *

 **Shindou Ryuga's Board - (** **Smokegear Dragon** **\- (VC) ),** **(** **Tick-Tock Dracokid** **\- (RC) behind (VG))**

 **Damage [** **Steam maiden Uluru** **] [** **Glimmer Breath Dragon** **] [Engineer Gear, Cellius] [] [] [] Hand:6** **GB:0**

 **Drop Zone:** **1x Chronojet Dragon**

 **Jaime Alcaraz's Board- (Kelpie Rider,Dennis - (VC) ),** **(Officer Cadet, Andrey** **\- (RC) behind (VG))**

 **Damage [] [] [] [] [] [] Hand:6 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone:** **1x** **Kelpie Rider,Polo** **  
**

* * *

 _ **Turn 5 - Shindou Ryuga**_

'I will avoid riding Chronojet this turn and focus on making his rear-guards disappear.' I thought as giving Jaime a Stride at early game would increase his chances of pulling of his consecutive attack combo and I didn't want to have to rely on triggers to defend myself at this point with my damage count.

"Stand and draw." I drew my card. "I will skip the ride and attack your Vanguard with my Smokegear (15000)!" Smokey rushed at Dennis to slam him.

"He skipped the ride? Does this mean that he doesn't has a grade 3 in hand?" Tokoha asked why Ryuga didn't ride a grade 3.

"It could be..." Kamui said while thinking on something.

"That Shindou is wasting this chance to turn the tides! I knew that I should have been the one to fight Jaime-san." Tsuneto complains with jealousy.

"No guard." Jaime doesn't guard.

"Drive check,Get critical trigger[Heart Thump Worker (G0/4000)] ! All effects to Smokegear (15000/ Crit 2) !" Smokey's slammed against Dennis twice, knocking out the rider and the seahorse.

"Damage check,first check,none[One Who Surpasses the Storm, Thavas (G3/11000)]. Second check, heal trigger [Medical Officer of the Rainbow Elixir (G0/5000)]. I can't heal the damage but I will still give the power to Dennis (15000).

'He avoided a ride so that Jaime couldn't meet the STRIDE condition in his next turn.' Ibuki realized Ryuga's plan from what he was seeing so far due to knowing a bit about Ryuga's play style. 'It's reckless, but it is the best to deal with the current Aqua Force.'

"Tick-Tock skill activate!" I raised my hand to declare the skill. "Counterblast 1 and move this unit to the soul to return your Andrey to the bottom of your Deck and I get to draw 1 card." I drew my card as Jaime placed Andrey in the bottom of his deck.

'He is doing quite well.' Mamoru thought as he watched the fight.

"I end my turn." I ended my turn, preparing myself for the next turn.

* * *

 **Shindou Ryuga's Board - (** **Smokegear Dragon** **\- (VC) )**

 **Damage [** **Steam maiden Uluru** **] (Facedown) [** **Glimmer Breath Dragon** **] [Engineer Gear, Cellius] [] [] [] Hand:8 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone:** **1x Chronojet Dragon**

 **Jaime Alcaraz's Board- (Kelpie Rider,Dennis - (VC) )**

 **Damage [One Who Surpasses the Storm, Thavas] [Medical Officer of the Rainbow Elixir] [] [] [] [] Hand:6 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone:** **1x** **Kelpie Rider,Polo**

* * *

 _ **Turn 6 - Jaime Alcaraz**_

"I feel it...in my heart!" Jaime unleashed his catchphrase as I knew that he was about to get serious. "This fight has been very fun, Ryuga, but now I will respond to you with everything I've got!"

"Here he comes." Tokoha says as she and the others tensed up at this declaration.

"Now, with this power that lead me into the light of this word, show us a storm that will surpass our expectaions! I Ride! One Who Surpasses the Storm, Thavas (11000) !" Dennis transformed into Jaime's avatar.

"Since you don't have a grade 3 I can't Stride. In that case I will call Magnum Assault (G2/ 9000), Tidal Assault (G2/ 9000) and Kelpie Rider, Nikki (G1/ 7000) !" Jaime's units showed themselves at Thavas's command.

'Show me how you are going to fight.' Shion thought as he was curious to see how Ryuga would get out of this situation.

"Thavas will attack your Vanguard (11000)! Thavas fired a water whirpool with a swing of his weapon.

"No Guard." I didn't guard hoping tht he wouldn't get a trigger.

"Twin Drive. First check, none [Kelpie Rider,Polo (G1/ 8000)]. Second check, none [Magnum Assault (G2/ 9000)] ." Smokey's bubble crashed against one of the pillars.

"Damage check. First check, Get draw trigger[Luckypot Dracokid (G0/ 4000)]! I will give the power to Smokegear (15000) and draw!" Smokey regained it's balance and took a look at Tidal who was getting ready to attack.

"Boosted by Nikki, Tidal attacks your Vanguard (16000) !" Tidal went straight to my vanguard to slash it.

"Guard! Steam Breath Dragon! (SD 20000)" Steam Breath got in Tidal's way and stopped it's trajectory.

"Your move." Jaime ended his turn.

'That was close call.' I thought as I could have been toast if he had pulled a critical trigger.

* * *

 **Shindou Ryuga's Board - (** **Smokegear Dragon** **\- (VC) )**

 **Damage [** **Steam maiden Uluru** **] (Facedown) [** **Glimmer Breath Dragon** **] [Engineer Gear, Cellius] [Luckypot Dracokid] [] [] Hand:8 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone:** **1x Chronojet Dragon ; 1x Steam Breath Dragon**

 **Jaime Alcaraz's Board- (** **One Who Surpasses the Storm, Thavas** **\- (VC) ),** **(Tidal Assault - (RC) to the left of the (VG) in the front row),** **(Kelpie Rider, Nikki - (RC) to the left in the back row),** **(Magnum Assault - (RC) to the right of the (VG) in the front row)**

 **Damage [One Who Surpasses the Storm, Thavas] [Medical Officer of the Rainbow Elixir] [] [] [] [] Hand:6 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone:** **1x** **Kelpie Rider,Polo**

* * *

 _ **Turn 7 - Shindou Ryuga**_

"That was a good attack." I swiped the sweat in my forehead. "But the real fight starts right now!" I drew my card.

"Bring it, Amigo." Jaime invited me to go at it.

"Bring me the Future that I seek to create! Ride! Chronojet Dragon(G3/11000) !" Smokey was filled with energy and transformed into Chronojet Dragon who inherited the same bubble.

"Generation Zone...Release!" I discarted one Ruin Disposal in my hand to pay the cost as Chronojet began his STRIDE.

"Come from the future and and bring a new tomorrow! Stride Generation! Interdimensional Dragon, Faterider Dragon (G4/26000) !" Chronojet became a giant gold dragon whose bubble size increased as well.

"I activate Chronojet's Stride skill! I am sending Tidal Assault to the bottom of your Deck!" A portal sucked Tidal inside of it and vanished.

"I call Glimmer Breath Dragon (G2/ 9000) and use his skill to send Nikki to the bottom of your deck." Glimmer breath fired a laser that opened a simillar portal that did the same to Nikki.

"I'm calling and 1 Heart Thump Worker (G0/4000) as well." A golden robot appeared on the ruins surrounded by a bubble.

"I activate Faterider's skill to return Heart Thump to my deck to superior call a card that has one grade greater than it." A time circle appeared below Thump Worker as the Workaroid unit went to that hole to be replaced by Engineer Gear, Cellius (G1/ 7000).

"Shindou is ready to attack." Shion says as he took a note of Ryuga's current battle formation.

"Shindou! Avenge my brother!" Tokoha yelled.

"Don't loose Jaime oni-san!" One of the kids cheered for Jaime.

"Cellius attack his Magnum Assault (7000)! Skill power plus 3000 (10000) !" Cellius threw his screw at Magnum.

"Supersonic will guard (SD 19000) ! Supersonic's pipe blew the screw away.

"Faterider attacks your Vanguard (26000) !" Faterider charged and fired 2 purple yellow lasers from his cannons at Thavas.

"Plato will stop that attack!" Jaime discarted the Polo to pay the cost and Plato appeared.

"Triple Drive check. First check,none [Steam Maiden, Arlim (G1/ 6000/ Sentinel)]. Second check,none [Steam Mage, En-narda (G1/ 6000/ Sentinel)]. Third check, Get critical trigger [Heart Thump Worker (G0/4000)]! Giving all effects to the Glimmer Breath rear-guard (16000/ Crit 2) !" Plato managed to block Faterider's attack with it's shield.

"Get him Glimmerbreath ( 16000/ Crit 2)!" Glimmer fired a ray from it's mouth.

"No guard. First check,none [Ocean Keeper, Plato]. Second check,get critical trigger [Supersonic Saillor]! All effects to Thavas (16000/ Crit 2)!"

"I end my turn."

* * *

 **Shindou Ryuga's Board - (Chronojet Dragon** **\- (VC) ),** **(Glimmer Breath Dragon - (RC) to the right of the (VG) in the front row) ,** **(Engineer Gear, Cellius - (RC) to the left of the (VG) in the front row)**

 **Damage [** **Steam maiden Uluru** **] (Facedown) [** **Glimmer Breath Dragon** **] (Facedown) [Engineer Gear, Cellius] [Luckypot Dracokid] (Facedown) [] [] Hand:8 GB:1**

 **Generation Zone Face-up: 1x Interdimensional Dragon, Faterider Dragon**

 **Drop Zone:** **1x Chronojet Dragon ; 1x Steam Breath Dragon ; 1x Ruin Disposal Dragon ; 1x Tick-Tock Dracokid**

 **Jaime Alcaraz's Board- (** **One Who Surpasses the Storm, Thavas** **\- (VC) ),** **(Magnum Assault - (RC) to the right of the (VG) in the front row)**

 **Damage [One Who Surpasses the Storm, Thavas] [Medical Officer of the Rainbow Elixir] [Ocean Keeper, Plato] [Supersonic Saillor] [] [] Hand:3 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone:2** **x** **Kelpie Rider,Polo ; 1x Supersonic Saillor ; 1x Ocean Keeper, Plato**

* * *

 _ **Turn 8 - Jaime Alcaraz**_

"Vanguard is truly amazing don't you think, Amigo?" Jaime asked me a question whose answer was quite obvious.

"It is the best." I replied.

"I clearly felt your passion from the way you just attacked. But..." Jaime discarted 1 Magnum Assault and Accelerated Command to pay the cost for the Stride. "I don't have any intentions of losing this fight!"

"Stride! Marine General of Heavenly Silk, Lambros (G4/ 26000) !"

"I will call 1 Magnum Assault (G2/ 9000) and 1 Medical Officer of the Rainbow Elixir (G0/ 5000) behind it!

"Jaime is going to bet everything on this turn." Kamui says as he notices that he used up his hand.

"Finish him Jaime!" Tsuneto cheered up against me.

"Hang in there, Shindou! You need to avenge my brother!" Tokoha cheered.

"Magnum attacks your Glimmer Breath (9000) !" I allowed Glimmey to be destroyed.

'First battle.' I thought.

"Boosted by Rainbow Elixir, Magnum attacks your Vanguard (14000)!" Magnum aimed and fired his weapon at my Vanguard.

"No guard. Damage check,none [Masergear Dragon (G1/ 8000)]." Chronojet took the hit.

"Magnum stands with his skill and gets 2000 power and it will aim at Chronojet again (11000)!" Magnum stood up and attacked again.

'Third battle.' I thought as Lambros skill's requirements were now fulfilled.

"Guard! Cellius (SD 16000) !" Cellius stopped the attack.

"Lambros go (26000)! Since it's the fourth battle I will stand Magnum and Elixir." Jaime flipped another copy of Lambros and his chosen units stood back up for another assault. "And with Thavas Stride skill, during the fourth battle I get to retire your Cellius." I moved Cellius to the drop zone.

"Perfect Guard with Arlim!" I discarded Ruin Disposal.

"Triple Drive check. First check,Get critical trigger[Bubble Bazooka Dracokid (G0/ 5000)] . Second Check,none [Tidal Assault (G2/ 9000)]. Third check,Get Heal trigger

"Settle it Magnum (26000/ Crit 2)!" Magnum aimed his weapon once again at Chronojet.

"Guard! Heart Thump and Uluru (SD 31000)!" The attack was stopped by Uluru and Worker.

"That was a close one." I said while placed my triggers on the drop zone.

"You knew how I was planning to attack,so you took out Tidal and Nikki in order to make me waste hand didn't you." Jaime

"Yeah. I knew that in order to withstand that combo of yours,increasing my hand while taking key units from the field was the only way to do so." I told him the truth about my strategy.

"Not only that,but also skipped a ride earlier on purpose so I couldn't stand my units with Lambros."

"Busted." I smirked.

"He planned this far!?" Shion couldn't believe how much Ryuga had seen far ahead during this fight.

* * *

 **Shindou Ryuga's Board - (Chronojet Dragon** **\- (VC) )**

 **Damage [** **Steam maiden Uluru** **] (Facedown) [** **Glimmer Breath Dragon** **] (Facedown) [Engineer Gear, Cellius] [Luckypot Dracokid] (Facedown) [** **Masergear Dragon** **] [] Hand:3 GB:1**

 **Generation Zone Face-up: 1x Interdimensional Dragon, Faterider Dragon**

 **Drop Zone:** **1x Chronojet Dragon ; 1x Steam Breath Dragon ; 2x Ruin Disposal Dragon ; 1x Tick-Tock Dracokid; 1x Glimmer Breath Dragon; 2x** **Engineer Gear, Cellius ; 1x Steam Maiden, Arlim ; 1x Heart Thump Worker ; 1x Steam Maiden,Uluru**

 **Jaime Alcaraz's Board- (** **One Who Surpasses the Storm, Thavas** **\- (VC) ),** **(Magnum Assault - (RC) to the left of the (VG) in the front row),** **(** **Medical Officer of the Rainbow Elixir** **\- (RC) to the left in the back row),** **(Magnum Assault - (RC) to the right of the (VG) in the front row)**

 **Generation Zone Face-up: 2x Marine General of Heavenly Silk, Lambros  
**

 **Damage [One Who Surpasses the Storm, Thavas] (Facedown) [Medical Officer of the Rainbow Elixir] [Ocean Keeper, Plato] [Supersonic Saillor] [] [] Hand:3 GB:2**

 **Drop Zone:2** **x** **Kelpie Rider,Polo ; 1x Supersonic Saillor ; 1x Ocean Keeper, Plato**

* * *

 _ **Turn 9 - Shindou Ryuga**_

"Now I remember!" Kamui finally realized that this strategy was the same as when he and Ryuga fought the other day.

"Remember what?" Shion asked curious about this revelation.

"A few times during our matches,he always avoided to be the first one to ride a grade 3 on purpose so that I couldn't pull my combinations with the first Stride." Kamui recalled that the Gear Chronicle user did that a lot of times during their games so that he couldn't get any extra advantages and then he got his key units kicked back to the deck with compliments of Ryuga.

"Isn't that a bit reckless?" Tokoha asked Kamui who shook his head in response.

"Not in this case. As you already saw in the Interleague match, Jaime relied on the powerfull combo attacks that were available to the Aqua Force at Generation Break 1." He answered Tokoha who now managed to get why Ryuga didn't ride a grade 3 earlier.

"All for that?" Tokoha was shocked by her friend's strategy.

'I knew that he was good,but this?!' Tokoha saw Ryuga taking another step ahead of her as he was going further away.

"This fight was fun and now it's time to finish it." I drew my card and used it to pay the Stride cost which was Chronojet.

"Stride! Interdimensional Dragon, Ragnaclock Dragon (G4/ 26000) !" Chronojet transformed into Ragnaclock who let out a roar.

"Stride skill! Magnum goes back to your Deck." Jaime placed the card on the bottom of his deck.

"Now Ragnaclock will attack your Vanguard (26000)! Skill activate! By paying 1 counterblast and flipping one copy from the G-Zone face-up you can't normal call grade 0 cards from your hand to the GC! Furthermore,since there are 2 cards face-up in my G-Zone,Ragnaclock gains 1 additional critical." Ragnaclock fires his signature move as it goes against Thavas.

"No guard! Bring your best,Amigo!" Jaime took the attack,knowing that he might loose.

I didn't check any triggers,but now the outcome would be determined by a heal trigger in the sixth damage.

'The chances for Jaime to get a Heal trigger are very low.' I had to pray that he wouldn't get the goofer's luck.

"Damage trigger Check..." Jaime smilled as he showed me the heal trigger. "I give all the effects to Thavas (16000)."

'It's over.' I said as he revealed his last Heal trigger.

"Why are they doing the second check?" Tokoha asks to herself.

"What do you mean Tokoha-chan?" Kumi who did not understand the current situation asked.

"Jaime already revealed four heal triggers during this fight and yet he is still going to perform the last damage check knowing that it is already over for him." Shion answered her question.

"Even if the fight is already over, it is their pride as fighters that is making them wanting to see the last card." Kamui explained why the last damage check is going to be performed even if it's over.

Jaime revealed his Avatar as the second damage.

* * *

 **Shindou Ryuga's Board - (Interdimensional Dragon, Ragnaclock Dragon** **\- (VC) )**

 **Damage [** **Steam maiden Uluru** **] (Facedown) [** **Glimmer Breath Dragon** **] (Facedown) [Engineer Gear, Cellius] (Facedown) [Luckypot Dracokid] (Facedown) [Masergear Dragon] [] Hand:6 GB:3**

 **Generation Zone Face-up: 1x Interdimensional Dragon, Faterider Dragon; 1x** **Interdimensional Dragon, Ragnaclock Dragon**

 **Drop Zone:2** **x Chronojet Dragon ; 1x Steam Breath Dragon ; 2x Ruin Disposal Dragon ; 1x Tick-Tock Dracokid; 2x** **Engineer Gear, Cellius ; 1x Steam Maiden, Arlim ; 1x Heart Thump Worker ; 1x Steam Maiden,Uluru**

 **Jaime Alcaraz's Board- (** **One Who Surpasses the Storm, Thavas** **\- (VC) ),** **(Magnum Assault - (RC) to the left of the (VG) in the front row),** **(** **Medical Officer of the Rainbow Elixir** **\- (RC) to the left in the back row)** **  
** **  
Generation Zone Face-up: 2x Marine General of Heavenly Silk, Lambros** **  
**

 **Damage [One Who Surpasses the Storm, Thavas]** **(Facedown)** **[Medical Officer of the Rainbow Elixir] [Ocean Keeper, Plato] [Supersonic Saillor] [** **Medical Officer of the Rainbow Elixir** **] [** **One Who Surpasses the Storm, Thavas** **] Hand:3 GB:2**

 **Drop Zone:2** **x** **Kelpie Rider,Polo ; 1x Supersonic Saillor ; 1x Ocean Keeper, Plato**

* * *

I said nothing as I raised my right arm and fist in declaration of my victory.

"The fight is over. The winner is Shindou Ryuga." Mamoru declared me the winner of this match.

"He really beat Jaime Alcaraz." Tokoha said as she didn't expected that he would win.

"Wow! That was amazing!" Kumi said as she enjoyed the fight.

"That Ryuga managed to win against a high level fighter,after all he did learn from the best,me!" Kamui bragged that he was the source behind Ryuga's victory.

"Amigo give me your FICA." I handed my FICA to Jaime who signed it once again,giving me the points from this quest and it's line colors changed to Green, officially making me a grade 3, "You have completed your quest,congratulations for making to grade 3." Jaime congratulated me as I trembled in excitment.

"I DID IT! GRADE 3 AT LAST!" I jumped in happiness as I finally reached grade 3 after tears of effort.

"Jaime Alcaraz's autograph! I'm really jealous of him right now!" Tsuneto said as he was doing a great job of showing how jealous he is at the moment.

"That's what you're mad about?" Kamui asked with a strange expresion.

'Why... I am not the one standing there.' Shion thought as he was jealous of Ryuga for defeating Jaime instead of him, ' I won't let it end like this.I swear that I will grab my own victory against you Shindou Ryuga!' With that he swore that he would defeat the Gear Chronicle user.

I turned my head around and saw Hibuki Kouji talking with Mamoru about the fight that I just had.

"He was just lucky." I heard Hibuki saying that to Mamoru.

'I will give you lucky,you damn Stalker!' I did a baseball pitcher pose and threw my FICA at his head as everyone around me tried to see who was going to be hit.

"-against a pro a secon-aarrghh!" He yelled in pain as my FICA landed on the mark.

'Strike!' I thought with a smirk.

"Why did you do that?" Tokoha asked me as I still had a smirk in my face.

"I just gave that Stalker-san a small punishment for that irresponsible comment he just made." Everyone around me raised their eyebows at 'Stalker' word.

"You mean that there is someone stalking you?" Kamui asked as I nooded my head.

'But his voice,where did I heard it before?' Kamui thought as he was sure that the voice was familiar.

"The person over there has been following me for a while,I even fought him." I told them a bit about what transpired between us without telling his name.

"Creepy." Tokoha said with a disgusted face.

"A person with no manners." Shion said.

"That's very scary." Kumi said.

"He sould be arrested!" Tsuneto said.

"What is a stalker?" One of the kids that watched our fight asked Jaime.

"It is a person that is doing a very bad deed." Jaime explainned to them as they didn't got a good opinion about Hibuki.

"But still...why would he do that?" Kamui asked me as I made the obvious ' I don't know ' sign.

"Shindou. Is he one of your 'friends' from the 'past' ?" Tokoha asked me as she theorized that Hibuki was one of the many,many people that I go along with in the past and was only following me around in order to get revenge when a chance to do so arrived.

"Noop, never met the guy until that day. Before that,he was just following me around,but stopped when I started to play Vanguard and only showed himself to me for the first time at that quest." I answered her.

"But why would someone want to follow you around, Shindou-kun?" Kumi asked as she didn't know why another would follow me around.

"He is the only one who can answer that. I better go and collect my FICA before he decides to break it." I said as I was sure that Ibuki might break it if I don't do anything.

"Like when you used it as a weapon against those thugs?" Kumi asked me as she preditect that the same might happen again.

"It was a pain to get you a new one,so try to avoid to break this one." Kamui told me as if I was some kind of FICA destroyer.

"Time to go to apologize~." I made it quite obvious that I didn't really meant that and went to Mamoru and Ibuki.

"Sorry it was an accident." I said with a smirk in my face. Mamoru seemed to believe it,but Hibuki on the other hand...

* * *

Ibuki Kouji's P.O.V

"Did you come here to see Jaime fight as well?" Mamoru asked me if I came to see Jaime's fight.

"Yeah." I answered him.

"Did you know that kid is the one with the clan that everyone is talking about nowadays?" He asked if I knew who the brat that just won against Jaime was.

'Naturally,because I was the one who placed the deck in his shoe box.' I thought as I recall the moments I spent following him everywhere he would go, 'But it seems that my actions of following him were not completely unnoticed.'

"He is only a beginner,but he is showing a lot of promise." Mamoru says.

"He was just lucky. He couldn't pull a victory against a pro a secon-" Before I could finish,something made of steel hit my head,making it hurt and I saw someone's FICA that hit my head on the ground.

"Are you alright Hibuki-kun?" Mamoru asked me if I was fine,but I wasn't.

"Who did that?!" I said as I saw the contests of the FICA and Jaimie's signed quest was on it,so that meant.

"Sorry it was an accident." I turned head around and saw Rive's son saying that with a smirk as I was aware that he did it on purpose.

'Accident my foot,you brat!' I thought as I didn't wanted to cause a scene,so I gave the FICA to Mamoru and left before he started to call me Stalker in front of Mamoru.

"Where are you going,Ibuki-kun ?" Mamoru asked me where I was going.

"Something came up. I have to leave,see you another time." With that I left.

* * *

Shindou Ryuga's P.O.V

"Why did you do that Ryuga-kun?" Mamoru asked why I hurted his friend like that.

"Stalker-san got what he deserved." I said with a lot of pride as I kept my smirk.

"Stalker?" Mamoru's eyebrows raised at that and we are aproached by Kamui who was curious about Stalker's identity.

"Who was the guy that Ryuga hit just now,Mamoru-san ?" Kamui asks who the person who follows around me was.

"He was someone that I know from the Associtaion." Mamoru answers Kamui, "But Ryuga-kun,you shouldn't call 'Stalker' to other people."

"He earned himself that name when he began to follow me around for more than 2 days on a row,Mamoru-san." I replied to him, "He even followed me to school and home."

"I can't see Ibuki-kun doing that." Mamoru answer not believing me at all ,"He doesn't seem to be the type of person who would do something like that."

"Did you say Ibuki!? That Ibuki Kouji!?" Kamui yells as he asks.

"Yeah. He is someone who was sent by the Association to the United Sanctuary Branch to help managing the place." Mamoru answers Kamui as the later had a very heavy suspicion about Ibuki's intentions due to his actions during the Messiah Scramble.

'What is he up to? Why was he following Ryuga around?' Kamui thought as he was trying to figure it out,but then reaches a terrible but the most logical conclusion, 'Could he be after Ryuga's Gear Chronicle? There is no other explanation for it.'

"Ryuga,if you ever see him stalking you again let me know.I will take care of him if he tries to hurt you." Kamui said in a serious tone that I've never hear from him as he was determined to protect me from Hibuki, "Here is my contact,let me know if he does it again."

"I apreciate it but if he ever tries to mess with me again...let's say that his adam apple is going to be kicked, and really Hard!" I said that last bit terrifying both Kamui and Mamoru as Hibuki for an unknown reason shivered as covered his under part while having a very bad feeling about this.

"I am sure that Hibuki-kun wouldn't think of doing something like that." Mamoru tries to diffute the mood.

"Amigo,I want a rematch!" Jaime called out to me as I wanted to take him on once again and this time with no pressure.

"I've already warned him that if he tried to mess with me again,he would suffer the consequences,so don't worry." I finished as I went to the others who called me back.

'I can't help but feel that danger will come one day for Ibuki-kun.' Mamoru thought as he saw the red-haired boy started to fight Jaime once again.

* * *

 **Chapter 7 Preview:**

 **Turn 7 - Masks and festivals**

 **"Who actually believes that crap?"**

 **"Shindou Ryuga-kun I would like to ask you a favor."**

 **"A festival quest?"**

 **"Do I really have to do this as well?"  
**

* * *

 **I apologize for my lack of updates for a while,been busy with life and stuff. I will be back to my reular update schedule after two weeks...I hope.**


	8. Interlude Turn - The Offender's Quest

**A small interlude to keep you lot a bit busy until I post the next chapter.**

* * *

 **Interlude: The Offender's Quest for redemption.**

* * *

A long time ago I commited a sin that could never be atoned no matter how much I searched for an answer in these corners of the world after the events concerning my involvement during the Messiah Scramble.

That was what I believed until I met a man in a small village in the middle of the desert who I happened to come across when I saw him cardfight. We talked a bit about Vanguard and the mysterious clan that I've never seen before know as Gear Chronicle that even now it's still a mystery to me.

He also explainned the circumstances around Myoujin Ryuzu and his son Shindou Chronio who appearently forgot his 'Chrono' name and started to call himself 'Ryuga' due to his suggestion for him to forget everything he saw.

I was definetely surprised when he showed me a unit that was hidding in his cloack that was also covered in the same cloth. He gave me a mission that could decide the future of this world and I naturally took it as a hope of redemption.

The day came when I finally found began to follow the boy around. I saw nothing but misunderstandings of his part when dealing with a few situations.

'I can't believe his misfortune sometimes.'

There was something dark about him, something that I could not fully grasp.

I decided to place the Gear Chronicle Deck that Rive had entrusted with in his shoe box with directions to Tokura Misaki's new shop that was now ran by Nitta Shin and Katsuragi Kamui from team Q4 that I encountered a few years ago knowing that the boy would be curious about it.

'He is almost a grade 1.' I couldn't believe how fast the boy managed to get this many points within a week.

The day that he and I would meet face to face had come at last when I took advantage of a quest that he had accepted and I bribbed the original owner with some units that he was needing to improve his deck in order to take his place.

When we fought for the first time face to face. I had the full intention of making him realize that he is weak so that he needed to gain a reason to go higher, a wall to cross that was none other than me.

I used my authority to pass the line which made him a bit suspicious about me, but I dismissed his question and he quickly took the hint and we waited to arrive at the arena.

I explained to him the uses of GIRS and he sure was excited to try out this battlefield, not that I could blame him for it.

'Why can't I feel anything from his way of fighting?' I thought as he kept doing misplays from his part during my first attack and when he didn't attack with the rear-guard that he stood up with the stand trigger.

At the time I barely knew that he was leading the fight the entire time until...

"About time you dropped your mask alongside that pathetic act." He gave an unusual response to my claim about him being weak.

'What?'

"By the way,it has been a few days hasn't it Stalker-san?" He was aware that I was following him for the past few days.

'How did he realize that I was following him?'

"What? Did you really think that I was not aware of your false kindness that you were showing from the moment we met ? Not to mention the fact that you were following me a few weeks before I started my journey as a cardfighter?" He was to my act from the start?

'I do not like where this is leading'.

"Although, you suddenly stopped following me around when I got the Gear Chronicle deck,I wonder why?" My worst fear came true when he said that.

'Did he figure it out? No,it is only a guess which is only logical to assume based on what he knows about me and the times I spent following him. In any case, I must dismiss this talk as soon as possible before he realizes the truth behind Gear Chronicle ending in his hands.' I made sure that this topic was never touched during the rest of the fight.

"Stride Genaration...Miracle Element, Atmos (G4/ 26000)!" I could barely hide my shock when he used a unit that was not included in the deck I gave him.

'It is surprising that he already started to walk down his path as a fighter without me giving him any new cards.' I thought when I saw him Striding Atmos.

I knew that moment that I had to fight him seriously, otherwise this test would be meaningless.

We kept going a bit and then I realized that his previous moves were gambles that he took in order to avoid any unecessary guards later on.

"What's wrong? It isn't going like you planned right?" He completely saw through every move that I made and planned ahead for them.

I hated to admit the fact that he was strong for a newbie who just started a few days ago, but there is something that he still lacks and only he can figure it out.

"Come from the future and and bring a new tomorrow! STRIDE GENERATION! Interdimensional Dragon,Ragnaclock Dragon (G4/ 26000)! Huh? Where is my unit?" I couldn't believe that he released such a crazy amount of Stride Force without him even realizing it.

'At this rate the system will colapse.' The unit appeared as the field was getting more and more unstable.

"You will need a double trigger for this to connect." I told the boy who now was showing me a small hint of his true colors as a person.

'Show me your power and determination to win.'

"In that case let's break that wall. Triple Drive check! First Check,Get critical trigger [Steam Battler,Dasaig(G0/5000)] all effects to Ragnaclock (42000/Crit 3)! Second Check, none [Withdrawn Gear Raven (G1/6000/Sentinel)]!" The guardians that were protecting my vanguard were doing their best to endure the attack that was getting stronger by the second.

'This next check will settle this fight.'

"Final Che-What?" He was about to reveal the last card when the system crashed.

I was a bit disapointed because we didn't get to finish our fight to the end and I left after he made that threat.

A few minutes later I knew that I had lost the fight when I saw the results from my device,but what actually scared me the most about him is that even though he managed to realize my intentions from the start, I felt nothing from him during that battle, not even a hint of his true self except his determination to win and his full intent to kill me in that instant.

'Am I actually helping Rive's son in order to save Vanguard for the sake my atonement or am I raising a monster without knowing it?' All I could do was hopping that the boy would give up so that I could be the one to take that mission upon myself.


	9. Turn 7 - Masks and festivals

**Turn 7 - Masks and festivals  
**

* * *

A full day went by since I defeated Jaime Alcaraz in a cardfight at the Dragon Empire's Branch and reached grade 3, which means I can now enter the Regionals as long as I manage to make a team of three. But we can leave that for another time since now I was heading to Card Capital 2 at Kamui's request.

"What in the world would Kamui want this late?" I wondered as I arrived at the store to see that the lights were off.

* * *

 **The shop closed earlier today! Sorry for any inconviniences that this might cause.**

* * *

'They closed already?' Despite the sign, I noticed that the door was left open so I decided to see what was going on and entered, just to be greeted by popping noises and confetti that covered me.

"Congratulations for your grade up!" Kamui,Shin, Karl, Kei and Tsuneto congratulated me, although Tsuneto was forcing himself to do so.

"What is the meaning of this?" I asked a bit surprised by this kind of welcome.

"This is a party to celebrate your grade up, wasn't it obvious?" Kamui asks as he places a 'Today's guest of honour' written sash on me.

"I sure wasn't expecting you to do that because I went up a grade." I had to admit that Kamui's schemes are always finding ways to surprise me.

"It's good that you've managed to get to grade 3 so quickly." Shin said.

"It is a new record that was setted in style when you defeated Jaime Alcaraz yesterday, so you should feel proud of your acomplisment." Kamui adds. "It was one of the best fights that I've ever seen."

"I am feeling goosebumps from remembering it as you used a pattern that is regularly used on me." Kamui says as he recalls our fights that ended up with me doing almost the same strategy which I used against Jaime as well yesterday.

"How did you get Jaime to fight you?" Karl asked and when I was about to explain what happened until Kamui decided to answer for me.

"Because a fighter's true human nature is always revealed when they fight." Kamui explained why Jaime fought me like that. " Jaime must have felt something about Ryuga. That's why he challenged him to a fight."

"There isn't enough." Kei who was still thirsty and hungry complained because we already finished consuming all drinks and foods that were prepared for the party.

"Hey, you already drank it all!?" Tsuneto asked Kei and turned to Kamui. "Kamui-san, we need more!"

"In that case, I'm going to get more." Kamui decides to go out and buy more supplies.

"I'll go." Shin offers himself to go out instead.

"No, you have already done a big favor by letting us use the shop." Kamui refused Shin's offer. "We will go instead." Kamui and Trinity Dragon left the shop as I sighed.

"Are you not having fun?" Shin asked as he took notice of my lack of excitement during the party.

"Was it that obvious?" I asked without looking at me.

"You didn't do a very good job of hidding it." Shin answers.

"To be honest, I am not used to be at parties, even small ones like this." I said as it was true since and during my birthdays were mostly empty ever since I became a toy to be thrown around when I was not needed anymore. While in this world, Mikuru always found time to be there with me during my birthdays here, even thought she should be working, I knew that she cared a lot about me so I was happy for that. "And I don't deserve it."

"What makes you think that?" Shin asked.

"Would you throw a party to the guy who punched your gut and kicked his balls because he was mad at you yesterday?" I asked with some sarcasm.

"But why did you do such a brutal thing to Kamui-kun?" Shin asked the why of my action yesterday.

"While I'm very aware that I can be brutal sometimes, it's not like I didn't had a reason to do so." I started to explain my reason for punching Kamui. "Of the people who nagged me on the way to fight Jaime, there could have been one or more overjealous people who would try to murder me in order to keep me from fighting their (from their point of view that is) Jaime, so what Kamui-san did was completely irresponsible and he didn't think of the possible consequences of spreading my life's personal agenda like that. Although his intentions were good, not everyone will take it in a good way."

"I didn't thought that way." Shin admited, although he wanted to deny it. "But isn't that an overreaction of your part?"

"Shin." I said his name to make clear the importance of my next words. "Both of us are fully aware that in this pessimist world, there's nothing that prevents such scenario from happening as this is no fairy tale filled with happy endings like the good guys always beating the bad ones, but the cold and harsh truth known as reality which will be the final outcome regardless if it makes you happy or not." I said with a very serious face.

"You have a point there." Shin recalls aspects of his life that became a part of the cold truth know as reality. " I understand it too well."

* * *

(Katsuragi Kamui's P.O.V)

The party was really going well, but I could tell that Ryuga wasn't truly enjoying this party at all despite the fact that he was smilling, which it was to keep us from noticing.

"I'm hungry." Kei complains as he was still hungry.

"I know, I know. That's why we are on our way to buy more food." I answered him as we kept walking.

"Hey, Kamui-san." Tsuneto began to talk to me. "Why wasn't Shindou enjoying this party after all the trouble we went to make the preparations?"

"I know, right? It was like he was forcing himself to do so." Karl added as Kei nod.

'Even they noticed huh? How can I make Ryuga enjoy the party for real?' The answer quickly came by when Tsuneto saw Tokoha and Kumi.

"Tokoha-chan!" Tsuneto called out for her as the duo turned their heads in our direction.

"Where are the two of you going?" Tsuneto asked them.

"Nowhere. We're just on our way home from cram school." Tokoha answers.

'This could be what I needed to make this party feel more alive and make Ryuga enjoy it for real.'

"Then how about coming to celebrate Ryuga's grade up with us?" I proposed as the two of them agreed right away and we were on the way to the shop after we bought the ingredients and the tools required to make a Hot Pot when we saw Shion's limousine.

'An extra guest won't hurt, right?' We went to the veichle and managed to convince Shion to come with us since he still had a lot of time before his English lesson.

'I really hope that this can make Ryuga enjoy himself a bit since there are more of us now.' I was thinking of how to make this party more thriling.

* * *

(Shindou Ryuga's P.O.V)

"How did it became a larger party all of a sudden?" I was amazed that Tokoha, Kumi and even Shion joined our party and were making the preparations to make Hot pot as well.

"Kamui-san said that he was going to make Hot Pot and dragged us along." Tokoha who was helping out answered.

"I see." I couldn't help but sigh at Kamui's 'unique' ideas that ends up dragging me on the road.

"I didn't know that it was to celebrate your grade up." Shion said.

"And what's with that sash?" Tokoha teased me about my sash.

"It was Kamui-san's idea." I answered feeling a bit of shame for wearing something like this but it coudn't be helped since I was the guest of honor.

Shin didn't exactly apreciated the fact that we were eating Hot Pot because the steam could ruin the cards and Kamui said that it was all on him not aware that he might get another scolding from Misaki. However we didn't listen to him as we were waiting for the ingredients inside the pot to be ready to be eaten until...

"Is this mochi?" Shion noticed the unusual ingredient that was inside the Pot.

"It is a strawberry cake that I secretly sneaked in there when no one was watching." Tsuneto bragged to Shion as I was not pleased by this stunt since it would weaken the food's flavor.

"Straberry cake?" Shion was about to put the cake back in the pot.

"No,no. You may never put anything that you took back in the pot." Tsuneto said, "Once your chopsticks touch it, you've gotta eat it."

"That's the stew rule." He finishes with a smug look.

'What stew rule? You just made that up and how dare you mix something like that into this food.' I thought as he would hear it from me.

"Hey, for your infor-" I didn't get to finish what I was going to say as I felt a scary aura coming from Tokoha that was filled with killing intent.

'What the hell?' I thought as I saw her head down. 'She is leaking a lot of killing intent.'

"Strawberry rice cake?" The atmosphere around us changed from a peacefull one to a cold one as Tokoha's tone suddently became empty and slammed her hands down on the table.

"For your information..." Tokoha explained the basics of stew should go and I agreed, what? Ingredients must make a perfect harmony to bring out their greatest flavor. It's the law of the universe!

"Honestly, you commited sacriledge against the stew!" Tokoha raised hear head and slammed her right hand down against the table scarying everyone except me.

"I really don't want you to touch it again!" Her expression became a fierce one as she finished her sermon.

"I-I'm scared..." Kei said as he was also afraid of Tokoha's sudden snapping.

"I-I'm sorry! I will eat the stawberry rice cake, so forgive me, Tokoha-chan!" Tsuneto implored as he began to eat all the pieces of Strawberry cake that he could find in the pot.

"Well, I'll let it go this once." Tokoha said as I just took two pieces of cabbage and three mushrooms that were fully ready to be eaten.

"Is this ok with you, Anjou ?" I asked Tokoha who was surprised by the fact that I did not make a mistake in knowing which ingredients were ready and how to choose them properly.

"Those are good picks, Shindou." Tokoha complimented my choice of ingredients to start off with a smile.

"Thanks. It is the first time that I had the chance to eat a Hot Pot like this." I answered as I ate a mushroom and apreciated it's flavour.

"You never ate Hot Pod before?" She asked.

"I don't get many chances to do so because I am usualy by myself at home,so it would be pointless to try and make one myself since this is a dish for more than one person." I said as I kept eating.

"What do you mean by 'myself' ?" She asks curious of my life details.

"Forget what I just said and enjoy the food." I dismissed the topic about my current life.

Tokoha kept giving out orders to the others like some as Shion commented about it.

"What will Misaki do if she ever finds out there's a Hot Pot party at the shop?" Shin who was stressed asked in fear of what his niece would do to him if she ever found out.

"Come to think of it, you also went up a grade as well, didn't you, Kumi-chan." Tokoha turned to Kumi and asked about it.

"Yeah! I finally completed a quest that allowed me to get the points needed to become grade 1!" Kumi said showing her FICA whose line colors were black now as we were all happy for her and gave our congratulations.

"But I didn't managed to do it as fast as Shindou-kun did to become a grade 3." Kumi said as the topic of how my grades went up so fast came up.

"He only managed to do that because he was always taking quests non-stop and doing favours for Mamoru-san, so it was only natural that he reach it so fast." Kamui brags about my acomplishments like he had done them himself.

'Do not mention the Under Quests that he took.' Tokoha and Kumi thought as they still remembered the chain of events that lead to that scary part of their lifes.

"Shindou-kun..." Kumi called me as I turned in her direction only for a picture of me being taken by her camera.

"Why?" It was all I could say as she smiled.

"To celebrate the ocasion and look, you are showing such a kind face." Kumi said as she showed the picture. "You usually never show this kind of face at school."

"Kumi-chan, let me see that pic as well." Tokoha asked as the others who got curious took a look as well.

"Nice expression." Kamui said.

"Kumi-chan really has a hidden talent for taking photos doesn't she?" Tsuneto said as he saw the picture.

"You think so?" Kumi asked.

A few minutes later we were all stuffed and relaxing from our meal.

"Then, how about clean up and wind it up?" Shin tried to put an end to the party, however...

"Hey, who wants to play ping pong to work off the meal?" Kamui revealed a few recently bought paddles and ping pong balls, blowing Shin's hopes for going home.

"That sounds fun!" Tokoha and Kumi were the first ones to show desire to play.

"I'm in!" The trinity Dragon members agreed to play as well

"Don't forget me!" I also joined as we quicky took the stuff out of the table and prepared the to play the game.

"Well, I'd better be going." Shion said.

"Going home already? I asked him as he nod.

"Even though we're about to play ping pong..." Kumi said with a tone of pity.

"I have somewhere to be after this." He answers to our disapointment.

"Don't be a spoil." Tsuneto complained as he wanted Shion to be here to play as well.

"He is right, you should take this chance to relax." I supported Tsuneto in this.

"Well, if he has something else to do, it can't be helped right?" Kamui asked as Shion started to have doubts if he really wanted to leave the party.

(Outside the shop)

"Well, not really..." I overheard Shion saying that when Kamui asked me to bring him back inside.

"Get your butt here, Rich boy!" I yelled to make him hurry up and come as his buttler was amused by this.

"I'm going! And stop calling me that!" And with that we went back to the shop.

(Back at the shop)

We spent a few seconds passing the smal ball from one to another until Tokoha's turn came where she failed to hit the target that ended up on the top of my head.

"You suck at this game." I didn't bother to say pretty words to make her feel better as it was the truth as she rudely took the ball from my head.

"It's not my fault." Tokoha tried to avoid the feeling of shame, "It's hard to hit the ball with this."

"Watch this." Tokoha made an epic stance as it happeared that she would hit the ball this time,but... "Huh?" she failed miserably as I sweatdroped.

'Seriously, how did she miss that?' I thought in disbelieve that Anjou Tokoha missed such an easy target.

"I will teach how to it it properly since it's too sad to watch." I offered to help her since it was too sad to watch as I gave her a headpat.

"Shut up! I don't need your help!" Tokoha tries to refuse my help. "And stop stroking my head!" She escaped from my touch.

"Misaki will be furious if she finds out that they're playing ping pong inside the store." Shin was trembling in fear as I teached Tokoha how to hit a ping pong ball properly.

"Now you get it?" I managed to teach her how to land proper hits and it took a few minutes until she got a hang of it.

"Thanks, I guess." She begrudly thanked me for teaching her how to hit a ping pong ball.

We kept hitting the ball as most of them were always sent back at me.

"Choose another target for a change." I complained as I deflected another shot.

"No can do!" Tsuneto shoots at me again.

"That's right! Your the VIP." Karl shoots at me as well.

"Seriously?" I deflected the shot at Kamui.

"Eat this special move,Ryuga. Kamui's Galaxy Storm Crusher!" Kamui smashed the ball with all his strenght that I somehow managed to deflect it against Shion who couldn't move to deflect properly and as a result the ball's trajectory went against Kumi's face that was about to hit her and she closed her eyes in fear.

"Watch out!" I put my paddle in front of Kumi's face and deflected the fast ball against Shin's face by accident, making him hit the counter with his head.

'Oh crap!' We all thought as Shin got up with a very scary expression as his lens were broken.

"Please, stop smashing the ball inside the store. That's forbidden from now on understood, Kamui-kun." Shin suddenly became excentric as he place a rule that forbiddened us from playing ping pong here.

"You could have hurted someone with that, Kamui-san." I scolded him ignoring that Shin was the one who suffered from Kamui's irresponsible move.

"My bad." Kamui apologizes.

"I suffered you know!?" Shin was sobbering as I ignored what he said.

"Thank you, Shindou-kun." Kumi thanked me.

"I'm glad that you're fine, Okazaki." I patted her head, which she liked, until Tokoha's cold glare prevented me from continuing.

We were all a bit thirsty for something cold so Kei suggested for an Ice cream.

"Go buy them this time, Ryuga." Tsuneto ordered me.

"I will go when you actually beat me in a fight." I wavered my left hand as to say 'dream on'.

'Which is never going to happen, unless some cheap plot makes me lose to you.' I silently added.

"It looks like all of you need to take a break. So this would be a good time to wrap it up..." Shin, who was trying to patch things up so that he could finally go home had met misfortune.

"All right! In that case, let's all go to the convenience store." Kamui interrupted him as we left for his misfourtune.

(In the middle of the street)

I bought a Sea-salt ice cream for myself to eat as the others were also enjoying their sweets.

"Where is your sash?" Tsuneto asked when he noticed that I wasn't wearing that thing.

"Do you honestly expect me to wear it on the street like that?" I replied to him as we all kept eating our sweets until we reached a park nearby.

We stayed there a bit when I heard Tsuneto and his teammate's scream from Kumi and Kamui's ghost prank which made all of us laugh.

"That was just dumb." Tsuneto tried to avoid the scare that was given to him by Kumi.

"That was quite a show you three gave us." I teased them as Tsuneto didn't found it funny at all.

"Don't get carried away because you went up a grade!" Tsuneto snaps at my teasing, "And don't forget that my grade is still higher than yours!" He completley forgot that my grade was the same as his now.

"Is that so?" With a grin I showed him my FICA whose line colors were the same as his, "See, I'm a grade 3 as well."

"What!?" Tsuneto was surprised that my grade was 3 as well.

'Were you even paying atention to Shin when he talked about my grade?' I asked to myself as Tsuneto was still shocked by the revelation.

"I wonder how long it took YOU to get this far." I stepped his pride once again. "And soon I will overtake you, that's for sure."

"What's that!?" We continued our argument. "Wanna go at it!?" He took his deck out.

"You're going to lose again." I was about to take my deck out until...

"Let's leave it at that." Kamui chuckled as he stopped our argument.

"All this talk made me want to fight." I wanted to fight all of a sudden.

"You're not the only one." Shion also wants the same.

"I wanna fight as well!" Tsuneto was also bumped up.

"Me, too." Tokoha was also fired up.

"Alll right! I say that we should go back to the shop and fight!" Kamui declares, "Fierce Battle! Vanguard until Dawn!" He dubbed the name of the event as we went back to the shop.

(Card Capital 2)

"We're back." I announced our return to Shin.

"Welcome back." Shin greeted us back.

"Let's do it!" Tsuneto was really looking forwards to this.

"Let's fight against each other, Kumi-chan." Tokoha challenged Kumi to a fight.

"Sure!" Kumi took upon the challenge.

"What are you doing?" Shin asks why we weren't leaving to go home.

"This is the event called Fierce Battle! Vanguard until Dawn!" Kamui announced to Shin who was not amused by the turn of events.

"U-until dawn!?" Shin freaked out as he knew that Misaki would demant to know what happened during the party including the Hot Pot.

"Shin-san could you please call their parents and explain to them the circumstances since they're still in middle school?" Kamui implored to Shin.

"Please!" The others except for Kamui and me said the same to Shin.

"There is no need to call home since I was alone tonight anyways." I told them that there was no need to call my home.

"And while at it, please call my house as well." Kamui left Shin to do the dirty work as his head went down from the extra stress that he recieved.

"Here I go!" Kamui and I were about to begin our fight.

"Stand up," We began to say the usual catchphrase.

"Owari no..." I added my own catchphrase.

"Vanguard!" With that our fights had begun.

After 30 minutes I was getting bored with Kamui as I knew that it would be over in my next turn and this was the third battle thatg I was having with him since he didn't want to stop fighting me until he won.

"Give it up Kamui-san. We both know how this is going to end." I told him knowing that this fight was almost as good as over.

"This is not over yet." Kamui pouted as he didn't want to quit the fight as he started his turn.

'The hard way it is.' I thought of finishing this in a ridiculous way as I took out a paper and wrote instructions on it.

"Can you come here, Okazaki?" I called out to Kumi who just lost to Tokoha came to our table after I finished writting the notes on the paper.

"Do you need something, Shindou-kun?" She asked with her usual expression.

"Could you continue the fight for me while I watch the rest of the guys please?" I asked her, "I'm already tired of fighting Kamui-san for today."

"Are you running away!?" Kamui asked outraged by the fact that I left the fight, "A man stays and fights to the end!"

'That would be the case if only this wasn't a battle to satisfy your whims since you refuse to back down until you win.' I privately thought.

"Shindou-kun. I don't think that I should continue your fight." Kumi tried to back away from finishing my fight.

"Don't worry Okazaki, if you follow these to the end, you'll win against him." I gave her the paper that contained the instruction that I just wrote.

"Now you can proceed Kamui-san." I said with a smirk as I decided to watch the rest of the fight.

"The fact that you left means that you knew that your defeat was the outcome." Tokoha who was offended because I threw Kumi off to my battle said.

"Not really, Anjou." I replied to her, "The only one who will get another loss here is Kamui-san. Just watch."

"Since Ryuga left the board we will continue the fight." Kamui said to Kumi who was reading the instructions that I wroten for her to follow, "But that doesn't mean tht I will hold back, so prepare yourself, Kumi-chan!"

"I will attack your Vanguard with Extreme Battler, Kenbeam boosted by Arashid (17000)!" Kamui declares his first attack against Chronojet Dragon.

"If you attack with that unit, I am supossed to guard with this card from my hand." Kumi guarded with Heart Thump Worker (SD 21000).

"Now Victoplasma attacks your Vanguard (26000) !" Kamui declared his second attack, but he couldn't activate the Stride skill because he lacked counterblast to do so as he had paid the cost for Victoplasma just now.

"If you attack with your vanguard, I am not supposed to guard it's first attack after you activated the skill." Kumi allowed the attack to hit and took 1 damage leaving the damage count at 4 to 4 as Kamui stood up his Vanguard with it's skill.

"I will attack with Victoplasma once again (26000)!" Kamui attacked with Victoplasma once again.

"During Victoplasma's second attack I must use the perfect guard in my hand to prevent the attack from hitting my Vanguard in case that you somehow get a critical trigger." Kumi following the instructions, discarted the card that was written and countercharged since there was another Arlim in the drop zone as the attack failed.

"I end my turn." Kamui ended his turn a bit shocked that his attacks didn't do anything at all.

"Amazing...Your strategy,moves and any possible reactions that you made just now is as it was written here in this paper." Kumi couldn't help but be shocked that everything in these was the actual fact, "And it even says how to beat you during my next turn in case that you checked a trigger or not."

"That can't be, let me see that Kumi-chan." Tokoha took the paper from Kumi's hands and the others stopped their fights to see it as well.

"Impossible..." Was Tokoha's reply as she gave the paper back to Kumi who took the next turn, "It really is as he wrote."

"Let me see... I skip the ride and stride phase, then I am supposed to call a card from my hand to boost one of my rear-guards and attack Kenbeam." Kumi called Cellius and attacked his rear-guard with it (10000).

"No guard." Kamui had no choice but to allow his unit to be destroyed.

"And with no intercepting units I must attack your Vanguard with Chronojet boosted by Workin (22000) and activate it's Generation Break 2 skill, giving it more 5000 power and prevent you from normal calling any grade 1 or above units from your hand (22000-27000)."

"No Guard." Kamui didn't have enouth shield to guard this attack. To top it off, Kumi got a double critical trigger that made me feel bad for Kamui.

"It's not over yet! Damage trigger Check,none [Extreme Battler, Kendhol (G1/ 8000)]. The second check for sure...I lost." Kamui fell to the ground asa mini Kamui ghost leaked out of his mouth.

'I wasn't expecting for her to pull a double trigger.' I thought a bit scared by Kumi's unusual luck when it came to triggersm, 'But it is time for the main show.' I thought with an evil grin.

"Watch! This is a fun card game where a beginner like her can defeat a so called strong champion like Kamui-san here and it's called Vanguard." I turned the rest of the fight into a small comedy in order to make a fool out of Kamui as his ghost returned to him.

"Why did you do that?" Kamui asked why I did all that.

"That was payback for spilling the information about fighting Jaime-san, so we are now even." I told him without any mercy, while hidding the real reason to do so which was having a bit of fun.

"How in the world did you managed to predict what I would do!?" Kamui who was now gloomy in the corner of the store asked.

"How many times do you think that I've kicked your butt during our fights?" I asked him as it was no brainer that after fighting him so many times, I would have his deck,strategies and possible moves memorized so I already knew what he would do from the drive checks that he got as I analized the state of the board and limited his counterblast in the process so that he wouldn't be able to Use Victor's Stride skill to stand a rear-guard.

"But I think that you went a bit too far, look at him." Tokoha scolded me for doing that as Kamui was really depressed.

"But he deserved it." I pouted as they laughed at my whinning.

"P-putting my defeat WHICH we planned to give you guys hope that you CAN defeat me asides, we still have to fight until dawn, so let's go!" Kamui made a fast recovery and decided to proceed with the next matchups.

'This is fun.' I thought.

"Yeah!" We shouted.

At least, that was the plan that met it's end in an hour after fighting all members of Trinity Dragon.

"Everyone fell asleep." Tokoha pokes Kumi's left cheek.

"Fierce Battle! Vanguard until Dawn!" She imitates what Kamui said earlier as I was trying my best to hold back a chuckle.

"Is what he said,but..." Then she looked at me.

"How did you beat Jaime?" Tokoha asked and Shion also looked at me for an answer.

"Didn't you watch our fights? I answered her with a question.

"I did watch, but my brother lost against him." Tokoha admits," And you're...no I can't exactly call you a beginner now that your grade is the same as us."

"A fighter's grade doesn't match their cardfighting skills at all as you should know by now." I told her, "A fighter can become strong as long as he/she never gives in."

"Look at Kamui-san over there for example." I pointed at the sleepy Kamui. "He is a high grade fighter and yet I am always kicking his butt."

"As for your question of how I beated Jaime, let's say that I used real strategy instead of the usual riding a grade 3 right away during my turn."

"Why did you avoided to ride a grade 3 before him?" Tokoha asks.

"During the course of the battle I avoided to ride a grade 3 before him because I didn't want him to use Lambros's skill a second time." I explained, "If Jaime had managed to pull it off a second time I would have been done for since Lambros gives 10000 power to the 2 units that it stands during the fourth battle of the turn as my hand resources were getting smaller.

"But why didn't you just send back his units to the Deck with Chronoscommand's skill and just attacked his rear-guards?" Shion who learned about Chronocommand's skill during the second fight asked.

"Because I wanted to avoid him getting Generation Break 1 as much as I could hold out since at early game they can be very dangerous, specially Tidal Assault and Magnum Assault that become a nuisance latter on." I gave another explanation, "And as for why I didn't use Chronoscommand during the firstfight was because Stalker was watching and I do not want him to get data about it yet."

'As they say,hold your aces until the end.' I thought as Ibuki wouldn't be able to make countermeasures using this data since he only has the old one.

"Ryuga." Tokoha said my name which means that this is going to be a serious talk, "Isn't that guy really someone who hold a grudge against you for getting involved into something that ended up with you kicking his butt and you just don't remember him?"

"I'm serious, Tokoha." "I really never saw the guy before I saw him following me around, which he stopped after I got the Gear Chronicle Deck."

"Could he have been the one who placed it?" Shion theorizes the truth.

"I doubt it, otherwise why aproaching me like that instead of just giving me the deck?" They believed my lie as I took a good look at the people that were sleeping around, a nasty though came to me.

'This is too good of a chance to waste.' I was kneeling down near Tsuneto and wrote 'Baka' on his forehead and drew a bit on his face.

"Hahahahaha." Tokoha was laughting at my prank as she also wanted to do the same as me.

"Let me do it as well!" She joined the darkside with me as I gave her another marker and started to do the same to the others.

"Welcome to the darkside, Anjou Tokoha." I joked with her as I drew Shin's face.

"The darkside feels great, Shindou Ryuga!" She went along with the joke as she drew Kei's face.

"H-hey! Stop it, you will get in trouble." Shion tried to stop us, however we made him a 'Do it! Do it!' look even though our eyes were closed while handing him over a marker and he almost lost his sanity as he wrote 'robot' on Kamui's face who seemed that he was about to wake up.

'He is going to wake up!' We thought the same as we left the store running with a tail between our legs and ended up at a pier-look alike park.

"That was a close one." Tokoha said while trying to catch some breath.

"You can say that again." I agreed with her as I wasn't tired from the run we made.

"I can't believe that I actually went through with it." Shion said as he regretted doing what he did to Kamui.

"You just graduated from the noble horse to a rebellious horse, rich boy." I taunted him a bit to see what happens next.

"Why do you keep calling me rich boy?" Shion asks.

"Because that's what you look like." I answered as we just looked at the sky lost in our thoughts.

"Did you have fun, Shindou?" Tokoha asked. "Kamui-san explained to us that you weren't having fun at all before we came in, but you seemed to enjoy the party even if your face says otherwise."

'Kamui noticed as well, huh?' I guess that I didn't do such a great job of hidding how I felt.

"It was the first time that I had a party with friends, so I didn't know how to act." I admited.

"Why were you such a jerk with Kamui-san when you wrote those instructions and gave them to Kumi-chan and made her beat him?" Tokoha asked out of curiosity why I did that in the middle of the fight.

"And don't say that it was for revenge because I know that you lied." Shion added as he also knew that I didn't do that to get revenge on Kamui.

'How did they saw throught me?' I thought as they clearly figured that I lied.

"It was my way of having fun." I admited the truth behind that little stunt.

"That was not amusing." Shin admonished me for having fun.

"Kamui-san was really depressed for what you did. So you should apologize before he stops being nice to you." Tokoha also admonished me.

"I'll apologize to him tomorrow alright?" Tired of their admonishments I decided to apologize to Kamui next day.

"It's time for us to go home." I said breaking us out of this peacefull atmosphere.

"What about Kamui-san and the others?" Tokoha asks.

"They can go and take Misaki-san's lecture when she finds out about the party." I smirked in response.

"That's really mean." Shion says as I ignored his comment.

"Anjou. Do you need us to escort you to your house?" I offered myself and Shion to take her home since it would be dangerous for a girl to go by herself at a time like this.

"No thanks. I will go back to the shop and stay there with Kumi-chan." She refused my offer to take her home.

"I will also do the same." Shion also wants to stay in the shop for the night.

"Since you both insist, I will also do the same." With that I went back to Cardcapital with them and slept as well after marking Shion's face while he marked Tokoha's and the later marked mine as well so that no one would ever know who was responsible.

(Next day)

We all had to explain to Misaki what happened as she said to Shin and Kamui that they would explain **very well** why there was a Hot Pot and pingpong at the shop and we began to leave one by one until I was the only one left to leave.

"It was fun." I admited that I actually enjoyed this night. "I would like to have fun like this again if a chance like this comes again and sorry for what happened about our fight earlier, that's all." I ran away after apologizing to him.

"I'm glad that you enjoyed the party." Kamui said as I kept running.

* * *

(A few days later)

(Unknown place)

Inside a warehouse that was supposed to be abandoned is now being used by two people that are fighting in a Vanguard themed table for fight's purposes. The first individual is a kid and his opponent was a person who was in a horse rider suit, but the most captive fact is that it was wearing a mask.

"I win." The masked individual says. "As per 'our' agreement I get to keep...your Avatar." The kid who was forced into the fight didn't want to hand over the card,but kept the word despite not wanting to do so.

"This is quite a good card. But now it's mine hahahahahahahaha!" The kid started to cry.

"Ryuga onii-san." The crying kid calls out for the same of a certain red-haired boy as the masked individual laughed not aware of the danger that is about to come for him due to his latest heist.

* * *

Kiba Shion's P.O.V

"Hey have you heard?" A random kid asked.

"About what?" Another kid said.

"About Masked Ghost!"The first kid said a name that I never heard before.

"I know about him!" Another kid answered. "He's like, "I'll take your Avatar" ,right ?"

"Like the real deal!" The two kids were scared.

"The Masked Ghost?" I asked to no one in particular as I heard that name.

"Shion..." Kamui spoke to me. "Haven't you heard about him?"

"He's the talk of the elementary school kids." Kamui explains of who the individual is. "The rumour is, if he beats you in a fight, he will take the most important card from you as it is your Avatar."

"Althout it's just a rumour." He finishes.

"A rumour about what?" Shindou, who walked into the shop, asked us and we explained to him about Masked Ghost.

"Who actually believes that crap?" Shindou says as he didn't believe the rumor about Masked Ghost at all. "As if someone would bother to do something so childish."

"As I said it is only a myth." Kamui-san says and we kept discussing a few rumours which included a very shady one that was known as 'The missing fighters from the United Sanctuary Branch' , until Shindou's phone rang.

"Hello?" Shindou answered his phone. "Do you need something from me, Ohara-san?

"I understand, see you later." Shindou finished his phone call.

"I have to leave, see you two another time." Shindou was about to leave. "But first, Kamui-san did the stuff that I ordered arrived?"

"No, not yet." Kamui answered as Shindou left the shop.

"What did he ordered?" I asked Kamui.

"He ordered a few cards so that he could build other decks." He answered.

"Doesn't Shindou use Gear Chronicle already?"

"Yes but Ryuga said that he wanted to build his own decks in the meanwhile he waits for the mysterious person to send him more units since he doesn't have another way to get them himself." Kamui explains as I understand Shindou's decision right away because I used some family connections to find out if Gear Chronicle clan was available to the public somewere else, but nothing came up, so the sender is the one who has the cards of that clan.

* * *

Shindou Ryuga's P.O.V

I just recieved a call from the police comissioner to meet him at the station, so I just left the store and went to the police station and right now I was about to enter the office of one of the only people that actually got my deepest respect.

"How are you doing Ohara-san?" I said casually to a tall grey-haired man who was wearing his uniform as he kept signing some papers that were properly organized in his desk.

For those who are man is a person who I met when one of my usual adventures that ended up with me having the blood of a few thugs that I had beaten for almost stealing the innocence of two 2nd year highschooler girls who just had the bad luck of encountering them. I saw the atempt and decided to help them out, as expected they didn't want to step back and decided to steal my money and beat me up. However they didn't stood much of a chance as I easily outmatched them and when the last one decided to change his aproach by atempting to kill me with a knife, I accidentaly countered by grabbing his arm and turned it against his stomach,stabbing him which almost ended killing him in the process but lucky the ambulance got there on time.

The girls had explained to the officers what happened, but they didn't want to listen because they were trying to convict me in order to improve their image of dealing with troublesome teenagers. When it seemed that it was all over for me, the police comissioner Ohara Ryotsu lend me a hand and quickly fired the officers who atempted to incriminate me for atempted murder. He also apologized to me for what happened with those officers and offered himself to help me when I was in a jam or needed help with something that was out of my power. Ever since then I decided to help Ohara if he ever needed my help as I felt that I owned him big time.

"Shindou Ryuga-kun, I would like to ask you a favor." Ohara looked at me, interupting signing his paperwork and made a serious face saying that he really needed my help.

"What happened to make you this serious?" I asked him as it was quite rare for him to make such a face since he always tries to smile when I am in the room.

"I heard that you've got involvd yourself with Vanguard recently, is that right?" Ohara asked.

"Yes, but what does that have anything to do with this favor you need?" I asked.

"A few days ago my grandson had a very important Vanguard card stolen from him by an individual know as Masked Ghost." He said as I raised my eyebrow at the mention of the rumored thief.

"The latest phantom rumour." I recalled what was discussed earlier at the cardshop. "So he really does exist. But why hasn't the police done anything about it?"

"That is where the real problem lies." Ohara sighed as he began to explain why Masked Ghost wasn't caught yet. "I suspect that he might be a wealthy individual from an important family because each investigation ended up with the officers saying that they had no choice but to let the suspect go, otherwise they would suffer the consequences of messing with a member from a prestiged family."

'So it the mysterious Masked Ghost is nothing more than a rich brat with massive superiority complex huh?' I didn't really get why a rich individual would even bother with something like this.

"So you need me to track him down, recover the card and bring him to you?" I asked him as he nod in response, "Am I allowed to use force in case that he isn't alone?"

"Yes, as long as you don't hurt them too much, you have my permission." Ohara said with a almost sad expression, "But please bring back the card that was stolen from my grandson."

'It's really sad to see a man of this calliber crying because of some petty thief.' I kind of look up to him, don't get me wrong but people nowadays could learn a thing or two from Ohara Ryotsu.

"After what you did for me, I own you a lot." I reasured him, "Besides Kaito-kun likes me so I'll be helping him smile again."

"Good hunting, Ryuga-kun." Ohara wishes me luck as I left the office and began my investigation on the the individual know as Masked Ghost.

It took me a few hours to fully understand this guy's Modus Operandi worked. It was a very simple plan which consisted of using allias in order to lure and isolate his victims by sending messages to their phones which he could do so with a bit of wealth for their personal contact and information.

'This guy likes to corner his targets by choosing places where the victim would have no choice but to fight. This area is the one where all of his victims were attacked, he really should pick a new area as this one is getting too old.' I had a map of the area where he show up for his heists on my phone.

I started to mark the most isolated locations that I could have found from this map and the testemonies given by the victims.

'Now all I need to do is to investigate during the afternoons when he will most likelly strike due to his busy schedule as a rich person who needs to follow a serious schedule as a part of his life. So all I have to do is look and the first person to be wearing something unfitting for the ocasion is the culprit.' I concluded as next day I went from each place until I saw a person jumping out of a window in the last of the spots in my list who was also wearing something that only a horse rider would wear for riding horses.

'And there you have it.' I thought as the person who jumped seemed to be in a hurry to leave unaware of my presence, at least for a few seconds.

"Shindou Ryuga." I heard Shion who was above me, but right now I had more important business to take care of .

"Well,well, we finally meet face to face, Masked Ghost-san." I taunted the prey who was now in front of me and stopped running when he finally saw me.

"You sure gave me quite a chase, using your family name to threat agents into letting you get away with your Modus Operandi when they caught you in the act." I revealed to him that I was fully aware of his actions when it concerned stealing from others and get away from the law by using his family's name.

"Do you have any idea who you are messing with?" He asked me with a smug. "I'm Karasumori Yuya the heir of the Karasumori family and the Speed King in the world of fencing,now grovel Mongrel!"

'I don't give a damn about your titles.' I though with a small sigh as he tried to order me around, 'From my point of view, you are nothing but a scum.'

"I came here to capture you for your crimes and to recover what you stole, so prepare yourself." I made my intentions quite clear for him to know.

"Then try to catch me." He proceeded to use fast footwork to try to slip away, but that was useless against me since I am used to fight at fast speeds against multiple people or should I say troblemakers.

"Too slow." I quickly dashed in front of him and threw a fast spinkick into his face that sent him to the ground leaving a bruise in his left side of the face.

"Weren't you supposed to be fast, oh godly Speed King ?" I mocked his title as I grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back. I had placed it in a arm lock and made sure that he was on the ground.

"Where are the cards that you stole from your victims?" I began to interrogate him. "You better talk or else."

"Why should I tell that to a commoner like you!?" He complained as I ignored his ramble.

"If you are not going to tell me, then I will search from your belongings." I took his FICA and began to look through his Deck to see it the stolen cards were amongs them.

"Where did you put them?" I asked Yuya, who still wasn't willing to talk.

"Why are you here?" I turned around to see Shion who asked me a question and I saw the kid from the quizz tourney.

'Did this idiot tried to do a double booking heist?' I thought before I explained to them why I was here and how I got involved into this when they questioned me.

"...and that's what happened. So can you hand over the card, please?" I finished explaining the circumstances of how I got involved in this chase to them and asked Shion as he gave me the card in question and I thanked him for it.

"So you're the Ryuga onii-san that the commonor brat I took that card from was crying for help like a baby?" Yuya laughed as he recalls one of his previous victims. "That's precious to think that he made his onii-chan get it back for him hahahahaha." This scum had the nerve to laugh at Kaito-kun's suffering despite his current situation.

"Should I break your arms for that comment?" I grabbed the other arm to make a small example of what happens when someone provokes me.

"No, Please don't!" The Karasumori Heir pleaded me to not do it.

"Say something like that again and I will break them next time." I threatned him as I stopped and let go of his other arm, returning to the original arm lock position.

"What do you intent to do with Yuya?" Shion asked me about this scum who appeared to be a friend of his as I finished placing the handcuffs on both of his wrists and ankles to make sure that he wouldn't try to escape.

"I am going to take him to the police station and let Ohara-san handle this." I answered him. "But first there is something that I want to know. For what purpose did you steal all of those cards from your preys?" I asked since I was curious why a rich person like him would have even bothered to do something as pitifull as that despite possessing capital to buy them with a crazy ease, unless they were trophies to boost his massive ego. I tuned my phone to record his reply.

"To teach the commoners." He said with a smug.

"Yuya." Shion shook his head.

"Teach the commoners?" I had a feeling that I knew where this was heading. 'He couldn't be that stupid, could he?'

"They should learn that they will always be beneath their betters, like me. The cards that I took from my defeated opponent's are proof of my learning on how to rule over them!" He answered with an arrogant face.

'And yet it is a commoner who got the best of you and it's the reason why you are in handcuffs right now, Rich Crow.' It was ironic that he believed that he was above just because of his birth which was proven wrong since I had him handcuffed.

"And as a bonus, Kiba lost his chance to be scouted as a candidate to be a professional fencer." He laughed with pride at what he did as I punched him on the face to shut him up.

"Fool." I said with a shake of my head and dragged Yuya by the collar with me. "To think that you are friends with this kind of scum, Kiba."

"I wasn't aware that Yuya was like this, not until today." Shion was disapointed with how his childhood friend changed.

"See you at school tomorrow, Kiba." With that we both left the warehouse's premises and began to head to the station.

(A few minutes later)

We were taking a long walk to the Police Station when I saw a teenager with brown eyes,blue hair he was wearing glasses in a few meters in front of us. A person that I saw and recognized from the Vanguard related magazines that featured the strongest team to watch out for the upcoming Regional qualifiers that was recently formed by the United Sanctuary Branch. That being said this is none other than Team Demise's strongest fighter, Shinonome Shouma.

'What is he doing here?' I wondered to myself what was Shinonome doing here and why now of all times.

"Who are you?" Yuya asked who the newcomer was, unaware of Shinonome's intentions.

"You can say that I am a friend who came to help out, that is as long as a small fortune is paid for my assistance in getting you out of your current predicament." Shinonome stated that he would get this fool out of this situation if he pays him.

"If you want money and prestige, you have a deal, take care of this scum who dared to harm my face and put these handcuffs on me !" Yuya foolishly accepted Shinonome's deal without a second thought.

'I get it, Shinonone was following this scum for a while as well and waited for a chance to scam him out of his money if he ever into trouble. I had to admit that he made a very clever business scheme that would have worked, if not for my meddling that is.' I quickly realized what Shinonome's agenda was all about.

"Could you please hand him over?" Shinonome asked politely, hidding the hidden look of superiority in his face.

'What a arrogant fellow.' I knew that Shinonome was clearly looking down on me. ' He thinks that he can just show up and boss me around?'

"No." I gave him the blunt answer without a second thought. "There's no way I am giving up this thrash to a scum like you."

"Thrash!?" Yuya yelled as we ignored him.

"In that case..." Shinonome rushed and tried to punch me, but I dropped Yuya to the floor in order to free my left hand and quickly blocked his punch with said hand as I grabbed his arm after advancing the hand that was used to block his punch a bit, then I pulled him to me and instantly punched his gut with my right hand, making him cough and I took the small opening to grab his neck with the hand I used to punch him without releasing his caught arm and strangled it with enough pressure to prevent him from breathing in order to make him surrender.

"L-let me go." Shinonome grabbed my right arm and gripped it to try to free his neck as he was having a harder time to breath, but I wasn't affected by the strenght of his grip.

"Only if you give up this nonsense." I said to Shinonome as he stopped his struggle to free himself and let my arm go as proof that he had surrendered.

"If you thought that you could beat me with fists, you're way out of your league." I told him as I let go of his neck, left arm, and delivered a strong kick to his chest which sent him flying a few meters to the floor while he was getting his respiration to normal levels.

'I was completely beaten.' Shinonome thought as he got up a few seconds later. 'I didn't expect that this guy would be so strong.'

"It's my loss, I'm leaving." Shinonome said with a bored tone, knowing that he had no chance to get what he wants.

"Wait, what about our deal!?" Yuya asks as he starts to become desperate at the fact that Shinonome couldn't do anything to save him from me.

"There is nothing I can do to save you, so it can't be helped." Shinonome waved his hands as he couldn't do anything to change the situation.

"Glad to see that you are a reasonable fellow." I said to him with a fake smile, not hiding the fact that I was looking down on him.

"See you another time at the Vanguard Regional Qualifiers, Gear Chronicle user, Shindou Ryuga." With that he was about to leave.

"Same here, Team Demise's leader, Shinonome Shouma." He stopped for a second then left after I returned the greeting.

'I just found a very interesting individual to entertain myself with.' Shinonome thought as he found a new way to fill his dull life.

"Help! Someone, help!" Yuya cried out for help as he saw Shinonome leaving, even knowing that it was useless as I kept draging him.

(Ohara Ryotsu's Office in the police station)

"I've brought you Masked Ghost, Ohara-san." I entered with Yuya inside Ohara's office as I handed the card that he had requested for me to get back from the person who was now with us in the same room.

"Thank you for catching Masked Ghost and retrieving my grandson's card, Ryuga-kun." Ohara thanked me for catching the thief and recovering Kaito-kun's card.

"My father will hear abo-" He didn't get to finish as I placed my hand to cover his mouth so that he would shut up as I was sick of hearing his ramblings.

"Shut up already." I yelled at him, because it was already annoying that I had to hear him saying how powerfull his 'papa' is and what he would do to me if I didn't let him go all the way here, what a pain.

"I'm sure that your father will want to know why his son is doing something as foolish as stealing cards from other people, specially from the police commisioner's grandson." I said with a smile.

"Ryuga-kun is right Karasumori Yuya, I am sure that your father would want to know why his son is involved in such meaningless activities that are not apropriate for the heir of a family such as yours." Yuya's face became pale at that.

"Y-you can't prove that I did it!" Yuya began to shout, "Father will believe me over you two.

"Oh really?" I smirked as I took out my phone and replayed what it was recorded earlier at the warehouse's entrance.

"It seems that we have the evidence to convince him of your actions." Ohara said.

"And if that isn't enough, we also have Kiba Shion as a witness to your crimes, so it's over, Rich Crow." I invoked Shion's name to create the finishing move.

"Shion would never turn me in! We're childhood friends after all!" Yuya was trying to hold his on own in the mountain cliff with one finger to prevent himself from falling.

"Even he wouldn't forgive you for screwing his chance of becoming a professional fencer because of your whims." I cruelly stoop his last finger of hope as Yuya finally gave up and accepted his fate.

"Could you please send me the record before you leave?" Ohara asked as I had almost forgotten to send him the evidence so that Yuya's father would listen.

"Give my best regards to Kaito-kun and have a nice evening, Ohara-san." I left the police station.

* * *

(2 days later)

(Classroom 2-B)

Today was another regular day that school was over and I really wanted to go home and rest, but fate had other plans for me.

"A festival quest?" I asked Tokoha who was in front of my table with Kumi by her side.

"That's right. The Dragon Empire Festival is coming up, right? We can get points by doing a fun project together." Tokoha said with a happy face.

"Why inviting me of all people to help you out?" I asked her, not understand why she even bothered to invite someone like me to help.

"Why? Because you are my friend, and friends usually do things like this." Tokoha answers.

'I thank you for your atempt to help me out to socialize with others, but those kind of events are not made for me, so I will have to refuse.' I thought as it would be boring if I got involved.

"Pass." I refused instantly.

"Why are you refusing?" She demands to know why .

"Because I'd rather stay at home for the day." I lied with a bored tone.

'It is not like anyone there would actually care if I was there or not.' I thought as most fighters who interacted with me were only interested in Gear Chronicle, not me.

"That's too bad." Tokoha began to explain what the main point of participating actually was.

"Everyone who participates gets to fight my brother. So, what will be?" She expected to lure me out with this.

"The answer is still the same." Tokoha was shocked at my answer as Kumi just kept listening to our conversation.

"Do I have something on my face?" I asked Tokoha as she was still shocked at the clear refusal to fight her brother, Anjou Mamoru.

"Y-you just refused another chance to fight my brother, why?" Tokoha asked why I refused to fight her brother once again.

"For starters, I have no interest in participating in a event like that." I pointed out my lack of interest in that kind of event, "And second, I don't wish to fight your brother in a handicapped fight that will most likely happen after sun's out."

"Is there any way to convince you to come with us?" Kumi asked me with puppy eyes as I recieved a message from Mamoru on my phone.

'Don't tell me that the Branch Chief is goofing off again?' I checked the message.

* * *

 **Tomorrow there is a chance that the Branch Chief might try to run off on his own to fight a few people in the booths during the Dragon Empire Festival. So, could you help Tokoha at the event in order to put the Branch Chief back on the line in case that he runs off to fight? It would be great if you could help me out and don't tell Tokoha, but I think that she really considers you a good friend despite her complains about you at home.**

 **Anjou Mamoru**

* * *

'That slacker can't even take things seriously at a time like this!?' I thought as the duo was about to leave.

"I'm in." I told them as they turned their heads at me.

"In that case, meet us at the cardshop after classes are over." Tokoha said as they left the classroom with me doing the same a few seconds later.

(Card Capital 2)

"All right, let's share our opinions on how to liven up the Dragon Empire Festival." Tokoha gave the opening statement.

"Leave it all to me, Tokoha-chan!" Tsuneto bragged as he was sure that his suggestions would be the best.

"I'm counting on it." Tokoha then looked at me.

"Hey, zero fun swirl over there!" She gave me a nickname. "When you decide to do something, you have fun! That's what a festival is all about!"

"Just make sugestions until you've ran out of ideas." I said a bit sulky at her insult as they gave out their own ideas until Kiba Shion arrived at the scene and sitted right next to me.

"Did Anjou dragged you here as well?" I asked Shion who nod his head in response and started to participate in this popularity contest for ideas.

"How about an auction?" Shion suggested.

"What would be auctioned?" Tsuneto for once made a good question.

"You know, a bunch of stuff that you own but don't use anymore, like antique items or sculptures." Shion asked if we had such goods in our possession.

"We are not as rich as your familly, so we don't own any of those." I said to him with a sweatdroped face. "Specially sculptures."

"Really?" He asked surprised that we had no antiques nor sculptures at home.

"Don't you have anything to say?" Tokoha who was finally tired at my lack of cooperation asked. "You are the only one who didn't gave a suggestion yet."

"Since you asked, I've got an idea that will make us all happy." I reply to her with a smirk. "How about making a Takoyaki stand?"

"A takoyaki stand!?" They all asked at the same time.

"What's wrong?" I asked at their outburst.

"That's perfect! It's so simple, but it will do." Tokoha said after a short period of silence.

"You guys are aware that in order to ran a Takoyaki stand we need money to get the equipment to cook, right?" I asked them as they nod.

"The Dragon Empire can cover for that." Tokoha answered, solving one of the problems.

"Our second problem is the usage of octupus as the main ingredient." I mentioned as it wouldn't be good since we didn't know how much we needed to order and the costs to bring them in proper conditions to be cooked.

"I could order some if we need." Kiba sugested to pay for the octupus, but that wasn't the main issue.

"That's no good, Kiba." I instantly refused his help. "We have no idea of how many customers we might have, so we should replace it for something cheaper like curry, cream chocolate and spicy sauces in order to avoid having to get rid of the extras later on while reducing the costs for our investment."

"In that case, what are we going to call our stand?" Kumi asks as we ponder for ideas until Tsuneto got one.

"Dragon Empire Grill!" Tsuneto made another usefull suggestion.

"That's a nice idea coming from you, Tado-kun." Kumi and I (Imitating Kumi) clapped Tsuneto as he was not amused by this.

"Are you two complimenting me or belitting me?" Tsuneto asked both of us who just made a neutral expression. "What's with that imitation of Kumi-chan!?"

"I like it! Dragon Empire Grill! Let's go with that name!" Tokoha claims excitingly.

"Now we have to make a plan to attract customers." Shion said as the others started to think as well.

"You don't need to worry about that." I said, interrupting their thoughts. "I already have a business scheme in mind and it has 95 percent of succeding."

"Can you tell us, Shindou-kun?" Kumi asked.

"For starters, Anjou and Okazaki will atract the customers to our booth while placing the orders so that we can avoid any troubles with excesive customers and give them to Yamaji and Nagara who will be in charge of placing the takoyaki's that we make inside boxes,store them in a spot where no one will try to steal and place them on the counter when the customer's turn to be served comes." I began to explain our strategy to make sales in our booth.

"Next, Kiba will be on the counter handling what we sell to the customers." I continued to explain my plan.

"Why Kiba?" Tsuneto asked.

"Because he is very popular with the ladies and if he is on the counter, we will get an increase of female customers, meaning that they might tell other girls to come to our booth and buy just to get a good look at Kiba." I answered his question as I planned to use Kiba's popularity with girls to our advantage.

"Is that a compliment or sarcasm?" Shion asked with a sweatdrop in his face. "Because you're making me sound like some bait to be fished by the fishers."

"Finally, Tado and I will be making the Takoyakis since we need at least two people to make them, if something goes wrong, Kiba will be our back-up." I finished explaining the rest of the plan to the others. "Any questions?" Everyone was looking at me like I grew two heads on my shoulders.

"Did I said something wrong?" I asked fearing that I might have done some mistake with this plan to raise my 'great ambition'.

"I think that it's a great plan!" Kumi praised.

"It's a good method, and I aproove it." Kiba agreed to my plan.

"Now you're going all out, huh, Shindou?" Tokoha also praised my efforts to plan out the details.

"Don't misunderstand, Anjou." I said with a huge grin. "It's all for the sake of my great ambition."

"Great ambition?" Everyone asked as my inner self as laughting like an mad hyena at the thought of this plan's possible success.

* * *

(Next Day)

(Dragon Empire Grill's booth)

The day quickly came by as we were busy as hell with me currently mixing the batter quickly, but efficiently in order to avoid creating lumps of flour that will ruin the food's shape when grilled.

"Wow! You're really good at this, Shindou-kun" Kumi praised my mixing skills as Karl stopped mixing his batter.

"Done..." Karl said as I took a good look at his bowl just to find lots of lumps of flour in there, in order words he didn't mixed properly.

"You're joking, right!?" I asked a bit outraged, pointing at his bowl. "There are still a lots of lumps of flour in there!"

"Lumps of flour ?" Karl opened his tablet to research the meaning of the word and I sighed. "Which means..."

'I might as well handle the rest of this.' I thought as Karl was still searching.

"Never mind, just let me handle this!" I began to mix Karl's batter properly as well.

"I'm about to start cooking." Shion was about to put the batter on the grill.

"Stop! The grease is not ready yet!" I scolded Shion as the later apologized.

"Don't worry, you just didn't know." I told him.

"Are these enough, Shindou-kun" Kumi asked me if the change that she was carrying in a small basket was enough.

"Yes they are enough, but you should have separated them so that they don't become a pain later on, so organize them properly!" I ordered her to organize them properly.

"You're being more bossy than usual." Tsuneto complained a bit at my attitude.

"Shut up! In order to fullfill my ambition we need this to be perfect." I told Tsuneto to shut up as I kept working.

"Ambition?" Mamoru was wondering what Ryuga was talking about since his only goal here was to make sure that the Branch Chief is doing his job. "Did he tell you what his ambition was, Tokoha?"

"He didn't say what it was, but I'm sure that we will find out soon enough." She answered as they saw Ryuga telling his friends what do to and stop them when they were about to make a mistake. "But I'm happy that he is enjoying something else than Vanguard."

(45 minutes later)

"So this was your great ambition?" Shion asked as I was counting the green paste earnings, in other words money, like Scrooge MCDuck as my eyes had money written on them. "But still, who knew that you like money so much."

"What? Can't a person want to make a bit of money?" I answered him as Tokoha aproached us.

"Money!?" She started to yelll at me again as I kept making the Takoyaki. "Shindou. The sole purpose of a festival is to have fun, not raising funds."

"It is our business, so we can have the extra earnings." I kept working as I answered back. "Asides we are all sharing so I don't see why are you complaining, Anjou."

"Can I have two boxes?" I heard the voice of someone who I didn't expect to see.

"No way, he is here in our stand." Stars appeared in my eyes as I saw a long red-haired youth who was in his early 20's that was wearing a grey jacket and white shirt with his collar button being open and had black trousers who is in fact Suzugamori Ren.

"Who?" Tsuneto asked not knowing who the person in front of us was.

"How can you call yourselves fighters without knowing who he is!?" I asked revolted at their lack of knowledge.

"Can you just explain us, Shindou?" Tokoha asked a bit annoyed at my latest comment.

"That's Suzugamri Ren of AL4!" I gave them a small review of who the person in front of us was. "He is the strongest Shadow Paladin user and one of the strongest fighters in the world!"

"You mean that Suzugamori Ren!?" Shion finally realized who the person in our stall was.

"Huh...Could I have two Takoyaki boxes?" Ren asks once again as he was still waiting for a reply.

"Are you sure that you can handle this, Ren-sama?" A young woman with long blue hair and eyes appeared right next to him. "You are not good with spicy foods at all."

"Of course I can Asaka, the feeling of encountering a nasty spicy ball makes me wonder how lucky I can get." Ren childishly dismisses her worries.

"Here you have, two boxes for the couple." I handed over the box to Ren as Asaka paid for the food. "But I can make a special discount if your boyfriend over there gives me his autograph."

"Boyfriend?" Ren cluelessly said while taking writing on my FICA.

"B-boyfriend!?" Asaka's face became red as Ren gave me his autograph to get the discount. "We are not a couple...yet." Asaka said the 'yet' word with a very low voice while still blushing, but Ren didn't realize it.

'How can he be so oblivious?' I asked to myself as I saw her staring at him with dreamy eyes.

"Thank you for coming to our booth!" I thanked them as they left the stand.

(1 Hour later)

"It was a huge success, we're selling a lot." Tokoha commented as she saw the money that we already made from the sells.

"At this rate we will be rich enough to buy any card that we want." I joked as everything was going very well for our business. "We already earned double than what we had to pay for the materials we used."

"Why don't you take a break?" Tokoha suggested for me to take a break since I was working like a mad bull four hours without resting.

"I will take over the grill until you're back." Shion offered to watch over the grill.

"No, thanks." I refused.

"Why?" Shion asks.

"I don't have any interest in this festival except for doing my job to make sure that the Oyama-san isn't slacking off again." I answered.

"That was a lie that my brother came up with." Tokoha admits.

"What do you mean by that?" I was taken back a bit by the fact that Anjou Mamoru actually lied to me.

"My brother and I used that as an excuse to make you come here with us to participate in the event because we wanted you to have fun as well since you are always taking things so seriously." Tokoha told me about Mamoru's plan for me to have some fun and be with friends.

"Is that so?" I said with a empty tone and looked at her with my serious gaze. "He didn't need to lie just to get me here."

"We didn't have any bad intentions. So please forgive us, Shindou." Tokoha pleaded for forgiveness as she thought that I was pissed at her and Mamoru.

"Just kidding." I said to Tokoha. "If it weren't for you and your brother's lie I would have never saw Suzugamori Ren face to face and I even got his autograph."

'For a second I thought that he was really mad.' Everyone around me thought.

"Can't you just take a break?" Shion asked as he saw that I wasn't interested in relaxing. "You should take this chance to have some fun."

"I never came here with the intention of having fun." I replied. " But if you insist I will take a small break, so don't screw up in my absence."

"I know, just go." Shion wavered as I went to my break while taking a box of curry takoyakis with me since we had made more than enough to take home with us.

During this time I watched the other booths to see what they had in store...I also found Jaime's merchandise in one of them as well.

'You wouldn't caught me dead wearing a shirt with that goofer's image or catchphrase on it.'

I stopped by a booth that was teaching people how to cardfight.

"Ryuga-kun." I heard Mamoru's voice.

"Good afternoon, Mamoru-san." I greeted him.

"How are things going at the Dragon Empire Grill?" He asked.

"They are going really well, so well that we can take it easy for the rest of the day." I decided to reveal that we just saw Ren. " You won't believe that Suzugamori Ren was in our booth an hour ago."

"Suzugamori Ren! Where!?" He asked looking around to see if he could find Ren.

'Good to know that someone around here knows who he is.' I thought as he went back to take his job seriously as I saw him breaking up a fight between two booths, helping a child to register for the FICA and even tried to lure me in into buying a few Jaime merchandises.

"So responsible, unlike the current Branch Chief." Ryutaro sneezed. "It makes you wonder why he is not the Branch Chief doesn't it?"

A few minutes later I took a lost child to the help center to see Mamoru taking off his Vangarou costume while shielding the child's eyes so that he wouldn't be traumatized by this.

"So you even play Vangarou?" I asked him as he was dressing himself back to his usual clothes.

"The person who was supposed to do it had to leave early." He explained why he was playing Vangarou's role. "It's not like I do it all the time."

"Anjou wasn't lying, you sure are busy." I stated. "Are you sure that you will be in condition to fight tonight?"

"I know right?" He said with a small sigh. "You should tell that to the Branch Chief."

"Speaking of the Branch Chief, why did you lied to me instead of telling the truth from the start?"

"Each time that you returned from capturing the Brach chief, you didn't seemed that you were having fun, it was more like a duty for you." Mamoru said, and he was right, catching Oyama is nothing more than an alternate way for me to get points to raise my grade a bit faster.

"That's true,by how can you be so dedicated to Vaguard when for most people only sees it as a card game?" I asked him. "I get that Vanguard can create new bonds, but in general that's only it right?"

"You're not exactly wrong in that department, but I would offer a different kind of answer." Mamoru stated.

"Which is?" I probed.

"The reason of why I do this is because I want more and more people to enjoy Vanguard." Mamoru started to explain the reason why he is always so spirited. " Vanguard can bring about new bonds and bridges that will be one day molded into the meaning of their lifes."

Mamoru turned to me. "I believe that one day, you will find that bridge, so keep looking for it through Vanguard and spending time with other people, Shindou Ryuga-kun."

"I hope so." I really hoped that I could find meaning in everything I do as a living being.

Mamoru got a call a few seconds later.

"Got it, I will be right there. See you another time Ryuga-kun." With that he left and I went back to work.

(3 hours later)

"We managed to earn a lot of money throught this." Karl was amazed at the amount that we obtained in the end which is to say that it is a LOT.

"Of couse we earned a lot, so it's time for us to distribute the earning between us all." I handed over the money evenly to Tokoha, Shion, Kumi, Tsuneto, Karl and Kei as I kept my part.

"Here!" Tokoha began to hand each of us a ticket. "These are to submit in order to get the chance to fight my brother."

"This is a great treasure!" Tsuneto kissed his ticket.

"A chance." Shion said while holding his.

"This is going to be fun!" Kumi said while holding hers.

"Here's your ticket as well, Shindou." Tokoha extended her arm and presented me the ticket. "Don't be shy, just take it."

"I pass, keep the ticket for yourself." I refused to take the ticket that Tokoha tried to give away. "I'm going home."

"Since you're here wouldn't be better to fight Mamoru-san?" Shion interrupted my atempt to leave, not understanding why I wanted to go in ther first place.

"I was decieved to come here to have fun and now that is already done, I'm going home." I really didn't want to fight after working so hard as it would be inconvenient for both me and Mamoru since neither of us were at full condition and the later would be exausted as hell after fighting so many people.

"Come on it's going to be fun, Shindou-kun!" Kumi also insisted for me to stay.

"At least stay and fight even thought you will lose." Tsuneto said as I wasn't offended by his comment.

"That's right, today everything to you it was all work and money." Tokoha also wanted me to stay and fight. "Stop being so stuborn and have more fun by fighting my brother already!"

'Why are you people insisting for me to fight?' I asked them why would they insist on me staying since it would be faster for them to fight Mamoru if one less person was entering the event since something like this would be bound to make groups.

"Because we all here to create new connections as fellow fighters that had a chance to fight Mamoru-san." Tsuneto said as I thought about Mamoru's words from earlier. "You are also a part of us as well, like it or not, Shindou." I looked at him as he had grown an actual brain.

"This may be the most clever thing that ever came out of your mouth." I praised Tsuneto without a hint of mockery, for once.

"Are you calling me stupid!?" He asks outraged as I ignored him.

"Ok." I decided to stay and fight Mamoru. "I'll do it because you people really want me to stay and fight him, but I'm leaving when the event is over."

(Dragon Empire's Stage)

"How's everybody!?" We heard Vangarou's voice from the stage which I recognized him as Oyama Ryutaro. "The final event is about to start!"

"But first Anjou Mamoru-kun would like to say a few words!" Vangarou handed the microphone to Mamoru who told us to split into groups of three and I got paired up with Shion and Kumi who noticed that Tokoha didn't join the line.

"Tokoha-chan, we better line up." Kumi called Tokoha so that she could join the line as well.

"I'm fine. I didn't get a ticket for myself." Tokoha admited that she was not participating in this event.

"Why not?" Kumi asked Tokoha.

"After all, you know, I can fight him anytime. But you guys should enjoy this and have fun." Tokoha made an excuse to deny the real reason for not fighting Mamoru.

"You talk about me not wanting to fight your brother when you are doing the same?" I admonished her for criticizing me earlier when she was now doing the same.

'It really is as Mamoru said the other day, she has no interests as a fighter.'

"It's fine." Tokoha said as Mamoru just defeated the first group at the same time.

"He's taking them out in moments!" Tokoha said as Mamoru crushed the second group as well.

"But this could go well for you, Shindou-kun." Kumi turned to me and smiled." After all, you beat Jaime, who beat Mamoru-san, right?"

"Just because I beat Jaime, it doesn't mean that the same might apply here today, Okazaki." I answered her as she just made her usual expression.

"That's right!" Tsuneto agreed. "There's no way that Ryuga can defeat Mamoru-san!"

"We can only know that when we fight." I argued back as Mamoru defeated another group.

"It's our turn!" Trinity Dragon went next.

"It's almost time!" Kumi was looking forward to this. "I can't wait!"

"Good luck, Kumi-chan." Tokoha wished her luck when Kumi's phone recieved a notification.

"Oh no! Mama is furious at me!" Kumi was nervous.

"What happened?" Tokoha asked her.

"The cat peed on the sofa, I have to go home and quick!" Kumi was in trouble so she really needed to go.

"But your next." Shion says what we already know.

'Talk about bad luck.' Kumi's luck was really something else as she can pull a trigger when needed but for real life she was quite clumsy, I can't help but to feel sorry for her right now. 'And when her turn ws about to come.'

"Regret..."Kumi turned to tokoha and asked her to take her place and ran after giving her the ticket.

"Wait!" Tokoha tried to say something but Kumi already left the premises. "Wait..."

"It couldn't be helped." I took Tokoha out of her thoughts. "I didn't want to do it either but here I am."

"I guess." She said as her fate was sealed as Mamoru defeated the Trinity Dragon trio.

"It's our turn, let's go!" The three of us went to the stage.

"There you are, Ryuga-kun, Shion-kun and Tokoha..." Mamoru was surprised that Tokoha was actually here to fight him.

"No, I don't think I will, after all..." Tokoha atempted to leave until I stopped her tracks.

"Just stay here and fight Anjou, otherwise I'm leaving as well." I blackmailed Tokoha who now knew that she had no other choice to participate because if we both left, we could ruin the mood that was around the stage right now, and we both knew it.

'What I'm doing is horrible, but if she doesn't try to stand up now, when will she do it?' I thought as this was the perfect chance for Tokoha to get out of her shell and begin to bloom as a fighter.

"Good grief..." Tokoha sulked a bit as she stepped forwards and looked at me. "I will get back at you for this." Mamoru chuckled at our small fight.

"It has been a long time since we last fought each other." Mamoru told her as he recalled the memories of their time when they still fought each other to improve.

"That's right." Tokoha said as she recalled her fights with him until she decided to stop trying to defeat her brother.

"Well, let's get started." Mamoru said to the three of us as he finished shufling his three decks. "I won't go easy on you."

"Stand up, Vanguard!" Me, Tokoha, Shion and Mamoru stood up their Vanguards (Mamoru stood up 3 times).

The triple fight was quite dull as Tokoha was the first one to be eliminated which left her a little embarassed.

"I lost, as expected. I'm no match for him." She said with a small blush.

Shion only lasted 2 more turns until Mamoru used Blademaster's Generation Break 2 to raise it's critical when Shion's hand couldn't guard the attack.

"I lost." Shion admits his loss.

I was still in the battle as Mamoru was having a hard time fighting against me who until now was going with half and now that he was focussed on me I would go all out as well.

'He is still in the fight.' Shion thought as he saw that Ryuga was still in the fight.

The spectators kept cheering up for us as our turns passed one by one with neither of us giving in despite the pressure we had ftom being watched by many people with strong expectations and beiing tired from work.

"Stride! Root Flare Dragon." Mamoru Strided his main G-unit as it made it's appearance on the battlefield.

"Mow them down!" Root Flare destroyed my remaining rear-guards and fired his signature move at Chronojet.

"Is it over?" Vangarou asked to the crowd as the attack was about to connect.

"Not quite." I said as I placed a card from my hand in the (GC) and paid the cost as Chronojet was inside Arlim's barrier that vanished with the supernova.

"The participant Shindou Ryuga manages to withstand that attack with a Perfect Guard!" Vangarou commented as Mamoru didn't expect that his all out attack to blocked like that.

"For this turn I will skip the stride Mamoru-san." I skipped the stride since he had 2 grade 1 cards in his hand and a Perfect guard was one of those 3 cards that he got from the drive checks and I was at GB 2, so he wouldn't be able to guard with Grades 1 or above from his hand if I kept Chronojet instead of doing a STRIDE. I attacked with Chronojet Dragon knowing that couldn't guard it.

"Get him, Chronojet Dragon (27000)! " Chronojet who was boosted by Workin punched Dragonic Blademaster's chest that sent him down as the sixth card was placed in Mamoru's damage zone.

"Incredible! Mamoru's streak of victories was finally stopped by the participant, Shindou Ryuga!" Vangarou yelled as Anjou Mamoru's streak had ended at my hands.

"He won against my brother." Tokoha couldn't help congratulate Ryuga for his victory against her brother who she believed that was untouchable by a non-pro.

"That was a good fight Ryuga-kun." Mamoru and I shaked hands as the crowd got louder.

"Yes it was,but I wanted to fight you without handicaps." I pouted like a kid.

'He manages to beat my brother and yet he complains? I don't really get what he's thinking at all.' Tokoha thought as she saw her friend, who wasn't satisfied by doing what many people desired to do so including her, defeating her brother in a cardfight.

'He pulls a victory against another higher level fighter and doesn't feel proud of his acomplishment.' Shion thought as he saw his rival taking another step ahead of him.

And the event proceeded without any further defeats for Anjou Mamoru to the disapointment of certain people who were fired up after my victory over him.

(2 hours later)

"It's finally over." I said with a lot of relief that this day was about to end and home sweet home was waiting for me.

"You were the only person who managed to win against Anjou Mamoru." Shion who was sitting right next to me says the obvious. " But you seemed to be annoyed by it."

"Yes I am, because I didn't like the fact that the both of us were already exausted from our working shifts today, so neither of us were at our best." I told him as I was still a bit annoyed by the handicap that the both of us had.

"Hey, the campfire is starting." Tokoha said as she was standing in front of us.

"So? H-hey!" I didn't got a reply as the green-haired girl grabbed my hands and pulled me out of my confort zone as she started to drag me into the campfire

"What are you dragging me into?" I asked her as she kept humming a song while dragging me.

"We're doing a folk dance." Tokoha answered my question.

"I am very tired from fighting your brother, so I need to go home and rest." I tried to lie in order to get away, but to no avail as the green-haired girl wouldn't have any of it.

"You're dancing with me regardless if you want it or not." Tokoha comented with closed eyes as she kept humming her song.

'When I thought that I could go home, this happens.' I thought as I accepted my fate and danced with her and I sucked big time.

"You really are a clumsy when it comes to dancing." Tokoha whispers to me so that the others wouldn't listen as I almost stepped on her foot again.

"S-shut up! It's not like I'm not trying." Ashamed of my lack of dancing skills I strongly denied that I sucked at it.

"Let me show you how it's done step by step." Tokoha teased as she taught me the steps which was embarassing to me since I had to be taught something by a girl like her.

'This is most likelly revenge for the teasing I made with the ping pong paddles the other night and for what happened earlier with the blackmail.' I didn't deny the fact that I was asking for it.

And with that I spent the rest of my time dancing with her until we were too tired to continue.

* * *

 **Chapter 8 Preview:**

 **Turn 8 -** **Ryuga Vs Tokoha and Cupid search.**

 **Tokoha for has been trying to get her favorite food for days without success due to a certain swirl's interfeerence and she confronts him about it when she had her fill of it. A certain lost lamb needs help to find his lost cupid angel with the help of a certain group of people.  
**


	10. Turn 8 -Ryuga Vs Tokoha and Cupid search

**AN: I added a few lines to match a few parts of the story.  
**

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 **Turn 8 -** **Ryuga Vs Tokoha and Cupid search.** **  
**

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A few days went by since the Dragon Empire Festival, which was a huge success as everyone who participated left with a smile in their faces and right now I was at the Card Capital 2 shop watching Okazaki Kumi's fight against Tsuneto from Trinty Dragon and it was her turn now while Anjou Tokoha was buying a booster pack.

"A confident no guard!" Tsuneto said as he didn't saw a need to guard this attack.

"Are you sure of that, Tado?" I asked him. "If she gets a critical trigger, this might be it for you since you're at four damage."

'And to top it off, you could afford to guard right now because you will have more cards in your hand during your next turn.' Tsuneto just made a terrible mistake.

"I'm sure of it." He reaffirms his decision as Kumi went to perform her check. "Now go for it, Kumi-chan!"

"Drive trigger check!" Kumi smiled at the card that she revealed which was... "I got a critical trigger!"

"Seriously!?" Trinity Dragon couldn't believe in Kumi's luck, which could be crazy sometimes.

"You were asking for it." I say with a sweatdrop in my face as I recalled a few matches where I was forced to be on the edge despite being way stronger than her.

'Sometimes it's the luck of the trigger what really matters in the end.' During Vanguard fights, the most crucial moments are always depending on which cards are revealed in the drive and damage checks because it can determine the outcome. And this is such a case.

"Damage trigger check, I lost." Kumi won the fight.

"Nice going there, Okazaki." I praised Kumi as I gave a headpat to her peach-hair.

"Good..." She was liking it. "More..."

'See, it's not a bad thing after all.' I thought as I kept stroking her head.

"Stop doing that to Kumi-chan, Shindou!" Tokoha told me to stop headpatting her go as she was holding a card in her hand. "It's rude to stroke a girl's head."

"You don't have to be mad, Anjou." I said to her as I took notice that it was a G-unit. "Huh? Is that a new G-unit?"

"Oh, this?" She showed us the 'Flower Princess of Spring's Beginning, Primavera' unit she opened in her pack just now.

"Congratulations for getting a Generation Rare card that you can add to your G-Zone, Anjou." I congratulated her.

"Thanks, I guess." It wasn't the best way to thank someone, but I will let it slide.

"You've gotten stronger, Kumi-chan." Kamui congratulated Kumi. "Maybe it's thanks to Tokoha-chan's coaching?"

"It's because Kumi-chan works really hard." Tokoha says to Kamui.

"Tokoha-chan!" Kumi went to Tokoha, escaping from my headpat. "I won!"

"Congratulations! Look at this!" Tokoha showed her the unit as well. "I've got a new G-unit!"

"Amazing!" Kumi was impressed at Tokoha's new G-unit.

"That was a good warm up for the tournament." Tsuneto, who seemed to forgot that he just lost to Kumi, said.

"Is that what you say when you lose?" Tokoha said as me and Kumi gave Tsuneto a weird look as it saying 'sore loser' .

"I'll show you my true abilities at the regional preliminaries!" Tsuneto declares. "Prepare yourself! Because I won't show any mercy!"

"Like you showed Okazaki just now?" I asked with a hint of mockery.

"I'm not going to be in it." Tokoha admits that she was not participating in the regionals. "So, we won't fight each other there."

'As I thought.' I knew that she didn't had an interest in participating because of what happened at the festival. 'She really doesn't want to try because of the expectations that will be placed upon her if she does.'

"Are you serious? It's the regional preliminaries!?" Tsuneto started a commotion.

"Why!?" Tsuneto started to pester Tokoha. "Why aren't you going to participate in the tournament?"

"It makes no difference to me." Tokoha says. "Besides, I am not interested in participating in such event."

'She totally took that out of my book, didn't she?' I thought as I gave her the same line a few times.

"This is your chance to show your strengh!" Karl joined the pestering. "You should totally be in it!"

"As I said, I'm not interested in that kind of thing." Tokoha continued to refuse to participate.

"Eh? Let's aim for the top together!" Tsuneto selfishly tried to lure Tokoha into entering the regionals. "You're going to make the name 'Mamoru-san's little sister' weep!"

"You shouldn't have done that, Tsuneto." I said in front of Kamui, knowing that Tokoha was going to snap at the mention of the allias the she dislikes the most.

"Leave me alone already!" Tokoha snapped at the mention of 'Mamoru-san's little sister'.

"There you have it." I said to the surprised Trinity Dragon and shocked Kumi.

"Um. I am really not interested. Sorry." Tokoha apologized for snapping and turned to Kamui to do the same as well. "I apologize for causing a scene at the shop."

"It's not your fault." I reasured her and looked at Trinity Dragon. "The ones at fault should be the ones to apologize, don't you think, Tado Tsuneto and Yamaji Karl?"

"Sorry!" They stepped back without even walking through an after-image.

'How did they do that?' I wondered how those three managed to do that.

"Let's go, Kumi-chan." Tokoha and Kumi left the shop as I turned to Tsuneto.

"That was really selfish from your part, Tado." I said to Tsuneto, who turned to me.

"What do you mean by selfish, Shindou?" Tsuneto, who didn't understand what he just did, asked.

"Just now, did you really think that Anjou was being comfortable with being called 'Mamoru-san's little sister' ?" I asked him.

"Why? I think that she is lucky to be on the same family as a great fighter like Mamoru-san." Tsuneto answered. "I would gladly brag about it if he was my big brother."

"Tsuneto. There is no such thing as a sibling who completely likes to be compared to another in the family, I could tell that she wasn't happy at all when you said that." I told him, while facepalming myself at his ignorance.

"Ryuga's right, Tokoha-chan never seems to be comfortable when that subject comes up, so you should stop doing it." Kamui said as he was on the same page as me.

"Ok, I'll stop, happy now?" Tsuneto asks. "But was I that wrong about going for the top?"

"It's not like you were completely wrong about the going for the top part, but that was up to her, not you." I scolded him a bit. "The way you spoke to her just now, it was like you were giving her expectations to meet as 'Mamoru-san's litttle sister', instead of Anjou Tokoha herself."

"Isn't that the same?" Kei asked.

"How would you feel if someone says to your face that you are only a great fighter because your older sibling is a great one himself?" I pointed at the root of the problem.

"I would be mad because I was the one who won, not my sibling." Kei answers.

"Exactly." He got it right. "I know that I would be really mad if someone told me that I'm good at something because it runs in the family."

"And as long as she is trapped in that cage called 'Mamoru's little sister', she will never become a true fighter." I added. "It's a shame because she is wasting her potential as a fighter. With time she will surpass her brother and reach great heights." I said surprising them all.

"You really think that is going to be easy?" Kamui asks, thinking that I believe that doing such thing is a easy matter.

"Think? I know that she will. That is, if she breaks off her shell of doubts and gains the proper motivation to fight head on." I confidently finished as I was about to leave the shop.

"Wait, Ryuga!" Kamui told me to wait. "I have a favor to ask of you."

"A favor?" I asked, curious about what Kamui wanted. "What is it, Kamui-san?"

"You see..." Kamui told me about a certain bakery that sells the best croquette bread that were ever made in this country. "Here's the directions to the bakery , so good luck in getting some croquette bread."

"For real!?" I was surprised at this revelation. "Nishi Bakery, here I come!" I went running to the place on the map.

"He sure is really fast when it comes to food." Tsuneto said to Kamui, who nod in agreement.

* * *

Anjou Tokoha's P.O.V

"Sorry about that." I apologized to Kumi-chan for showing that unsightfull part of me. "Spoiling the mood, after you won..."

"Not at all." Kumi-chan reasures me that it was fine.

"But why was Shindou giving you a Headpat?" I asked her, feeling annoyed that Shindou treated Kumi-chan and me a lost child.

"It was because I won, so he was congratulating me." She answered.

"So he strokes the hair of a girl because of that!?" I was really annoyed by his antic.

"Didn't you feel confortable when he patted yours the other day?" Kumi-chan asked me since she saw Shindou doing the same to me at the Interleague Match and his grade up party the other day.

"Yes, it was very confortable, but that's not the problem here!" I dismissed the confortable feeling of getting your hair stroked like that. "It's just wrong for a boy to do that to a girl of the same age who is not a sibling if they're not in a relationship!"

"But isn't Shindou-kun our friend?" Kumi-chan misunderstood the degree of relationship that would be allowable to do something like that.

"Yes, despite the fact that he can be a bit arrogant sometimes, he's still our friend." I answered her. "But it's still wrong and he should know it!"

"Say, Tokoha-chan, are you free next Sunday?" Kumi-chan asked if I was free that day.

"Sunday?" I said. "Yeah. I don't have any plans."

"If you'd like, would you go with me on a quest?" Kumi-chan showed me a Quest in her FICA.

* * *

 **Quest Restriction -** **Open to girl fighters only!**

 **Quest- Only open to girl fighters. Holding a social gathering/tea party. Let's have fun playing Vanguard together.**

 **Sender - Machiko Tahara**

 **Clan-Genesis**

 **Reward- 150 points**

 **Accept  
**  
 **Cancel**

* * *

"That sounds fun." I said, looking a bit forward to it.

"I know, right?" Kumi-chan asked.

"Okay, I'll take the quest as well." I joined the Quest with Kumi-chan. "At this rate, you'll soon be a grade 2, Kumi-chan."

"And I have you to thank for teaching me everything that I know, Tokoha-chan." She thanked me for teaching her how to fight.

"I've got it!" I got an idea that will put both of us in heaven.

(Nishi Bakery)

"Here! The croquette bread at this place is freshly-baked and crisp." I began to describe how wonderfull the croquette bread of this bakery truly are. "The potatoes inside are piping hot."

"And the homemade sauce is out of this world!"

"Really!?" Kumi-chan asked with stars in her eyes.

"I always bring one to my brother when he is in a tournament as a charm. And he wins every time after he eats one! That's because it's the miraculous croquette bread!"

"Amazing!" Kumi-chan now wanted one like me.

We looked at the display to see that there were no croquette breads left.

* * *

 **Sold out for today. I'm sorry! Homemade Croquette Bread.**

* * *

"Sold out!?" We couldn't believe that they were gone as we say the anouncement plate.

"I'm sorry Tokoha-chan, I just sold the last two." Nishi-san said that the last TWO were just sold out a few minutes ago.

"I see..." I was really frustrated now at this turn of events. "Who was it!?"

"Who was the responsible for getting in the way of my small happiness!?" I asked out loud as Shindou Ryuga, the responsible for her misery, was eating the delicious snack that Tokoha had failed to get with Katsuragi Kamui at Card Capital 2.

* * *

(Shindou Ryuga's P.O.V)

(Card Capital 2)

"These are amazing!" I couldn't help but compliment the croquettes divine flavour that was in my mouth while Kamui was taking a bite from his. "This sauce is truly out of this world! No, it's a gift from the gods!"

"Glad you liked it." Kamui said. "Thank you for going to buy them, even if it was all of a sudden, Ryuga."

"I can understand why you asked, these are worth every effort that I made to get there!" I said as I tasted the potatoes inside. "So crispy!"

"It sells out really quick, so I don't get the chance to buy them when I'm working." He said.

"I am amazed how I never learned about these before!" I still couldn't believe that such a simple snack as this could be so delicious, not aware that I gave despair to a certain green-haired girl and the her clumsy peach-haired friend. "It's my favorite snack from now on!"

"Could you buy more for us tomorrow?" Kamui asked. "I'm going to let Shin-san on to this secret as well."

"Sure." I agreed to buy. "The more, the merrier."

* * *

(Next Day)

Anjou Tokoha's P.O.V

(School's hallway)

"Excuse me!" I left the Teacher's Room, carrying a box filled with school material and saw Kiba Shion.

"Want some help?" He offered to help out, but I decided to refuse.

"No. That's okay." It was until I started having trouble with the box, that is.

"I had a lot of fun the other day at the festival." He said. "Even though it was an event, I learned a lot from Mamoru-san, so it was a good experience."

"Sorry that my brother never shows any mercy..." I felt bad about how we were crushed by my brother.

"He was the only one who won." Kiba was talking about the red-haired swirl know to us as Shindou Ryuga. "He just keeps getting stronger each time he fights."

"He already displays a fight that is on pair to a Clan Leader." He seemed to be frustated. "I want grab my own victory by surpassing him."

'True, Shindou was the only person that I ever saw defeating my brother, asides from Jaime Alcaraz, despite the fact that he began to play Vanguard only a few months ago and we technically should be more experient at Vanguard than what he is.' I thought as the swirl-haired boy's image appeared in my mind. 'How does he do it?'

"I wish to fight him someday." I spoke out my intention to have a fight against the swirl.

"You never fought him?" Kiba asked as I shook my head.

"There were a few times when we had the chance to fight, but it was always interrupted by unexpected circumstances." I told him about the events that always got in the way of our fight.

"That's too bad." He says, feeling bad for me. "He is a great fighter despite his looks."

"I know, I already saw him fighting opponent's that were too much for me to handle before." Like the Underworld King, The Dragon Empire Branch Chief, Jaime-san and now my brother was added to the list.

"He is a real genius when it comes to Vanguard." He said as I agreed. "From the way he fights, it's like he can see how the game's flow will work out just from seeing certain units on the field."

"Yeah. He is always paying attention to every detail of the fight, even when fighting the members of Trinity Dragon." I added.

"What kind of train he does to become as strong as he is right now?" Kiba asked as I wondered the same.

"I don't know. But we should leave Shindou's training method for another time." He agreed as we ended our talk about Shindou.

"I envy you." He said.

"For what?" I asked him.

"Being so close to an incredible fight like Mamoru-san." He talked about my brother once again. "I bet that you're lerning things all the time from him."

'Learning? What am I exactly learning?' I always avoid to fight him, except for the time that Shindou didn't gave me a choice but to fight, otherwise I would have just walked away from the stage instead.

"Sometimes it's a pain, though." I complained.

"Oh. I guess I can imagine that, with you being Mamoru-san's little sister." He just had to say the one thing that I don't truly like to be told.

'That nickname again.' Someone else called me that. 'It's always like that and I hate it.'

"See you tomorrow, Anjou." Kiba went ways as I delivered the items to the classroom.

"Same here." I said as I left the school afterwards.

I was walking outside looking at my new G-unit when a few memories came back to me. Memories of how I might have begun to give up on reaching my brother.

* * *

(A few years ago)

I managed to win a small Vanguard tournament for kids that took place in the local card shop. I was going to see my brother to tell him about my victory and show the mini-cup I got as a prize.

"My brother is going to be so proud of me when I show him this!" I was really looking forward to it, but life had other plans for me.

"Brother, I..." I saw my brother being handed another Vanguard trophy for winning a big tournament.

"Congratulations for a spendid Victory, Anjou Mamoru-kun." A group of people was gathered around my brother.

"Did you want to say something, Tokoha?" I hid my trophy behind my back.

"I-it's nothing." I couldn't say anything since his acomplishment completely overshadowed mine. 'And in front of so many people.'

"Congratulations for winning another tournament, big brother." I told him a bit sad that I couldn't even tell him about my own victory.

'It's always like this.' The small me that could only stare at my bother who was being praised around by several people.

I know that it's no one's fault, but... it really feels lonely sometimes.

* * *

I stopped walking as I recalled how big the distance between me and my brother was and still is today.

'He became a clan leader and I just keep watching him from the sidelines, without acomplishing anything.'

"Darn it!" I decided to buy some croquette bread at Nishi Bakery to calm down my frustration.

(Nishi Bakery)

"Excuse me!" I arrived at the bakery.

"Nishi-san!" I called out to him.

"I want two loafs of croquette bread!" I requested a few croquette bread. "No, make it three of them!"

"I-Im sorry." Nishi-san apologized. "I just sold out a few minutes ago."

"Eh!?" Who bought my croquette bread?

"Who was it!?" I pressed Nishi-san to know who bought my food and left me with nothing but misery. "Who bought my croquette bread!?"

"H-he was wearing the same middle school uniform as you." Nishi-san began to describe the person in question. "And his hair was like a chocolate cornet."

'Chocolate cornet...' I though as a certain red-haired swirled person came to mind, Shindou Ryuga.

"Chocolate Ryuga..." I said the swirl's name as my right eyebrow twitched as Shindou Ryuga took a bite of the croquette bread at Card Capital 2.

* * *

Shindou's Ryuga P.O.V

(Card Capital 2)

"This is quite tasty." Shin said as he was eating of of the croquette bread that I just bought a few minutes ago.

"Right? They sell out really fast, so it's been hard to get a hold of one." Kamui said to Shin as he stopped eating. "But thanks to Ryuga, we can now get them on time."

"Speaking of time. Next time that I get these, it will come out of both of your pockets if you want one." I told them as they nod.

"No complains." They said at the same time as we took another bite.

"Could you buy more for us tomorrow as well?" Shin and Kamui handed me some money. "We will cover yours as well."

"At the usual time?" They answered with a nod. "Got it."

* * *

(Next day)

Anjou Tokoha's P.O.V

(Nishi Bakery)

I was at Nishi's bakery with Kumi-chan to try to eat croquette bread, just to find that they were sold out again. I will give you a hint. His name starts with "R" and ends with "a".

"Not again!?" I yelled as Nishi-san bowed in apology.

"The same person as yesterday?" He nod his head as I sighed. "Shindou Ryuga?"

"Y-yes, it was Shindou Ryuga-kun who bought the last four." Nishi-san admited. "He even said that these were the best snacks that he had ever eaten in his entire life, so it's most likely that he will be a regular from now on."

"That Shindou!" I was getting really mad at him for getting in the way of my happiness, while he has an excellent taste for food, it was getting annoying after three days in a row. "He's really starting to get on my nerves."

"Kumi-chan!" I called out to her.

"Y-yes, Tokoha-chan?" Kumi-chan was surprised at my enthusiasm.

"We need to find a away to get a hold of the croquette bread tomorrow before Shindou does!" I began to make a plan to make sure that Shindou wouldn't buy any croquette bread before me tomorrow. "If we don't, we will never get a chance to eat the miraculous croquette bread ever again."

"But why not asking Shindou-kun to get us one or two?" Kumi-chan took out and pointed at her phone. "After all, we have his contact."

"Didn't you heard what Nishi-san said?" I asked Kumi-chan, who nod her head. "He's has become a regular and a big fan of them, just like me, so it is very unlikely that he will share them with us, because I wouldn't hand over mine neither."

"I don't think that Shindou-kun will say no." Kumi-chan says as she believes that Shindou might be willing to share.

"Anyways, let's start to plan our move!" We began to plan out how to get the croquette bread before the swirl does.

* * *

Okazaki Kumi's P.O.V

(Next Day)

(Classroom 2-B)

"Do you remeber the plan, Kumi-chan?" Tokoha-chan asked me if I remembered what we planned out yesterday.

"Yes!" I nod my head. "I will ask for Shindou-kun's help with my homework to buy some time while you go out and buy the croquette bread."

"He is tied up with Kiba Shion as the best students of this middle school, so this should be a piece of cake for him to solve them and this will probably stall him for a few minutes." Tokoha-chan said. "And as a bonus, you will have your homework finished earlier." She said as I kind of felt bad for doing something like this just to eat.

"Now, Kumi-chan!" Tokoha-chan told me to begin the plan as she quickly left the classroom after classes were over.

"Time for me to go for more croquette bread." Shindou-kun, who finished packing his school books said, confirming Tokoha-chan's fears.

"Shindou-Kun." I stood in front of him with the intention of getting in his way.

"Okazaki." He said my family name. "Do you need something?"

I showed him my notebook, which pretty much told him everything he needed to know.

"You need help with our homework asigment?" Shindou-kun asked to me and I nod my head. "In that case...can you show it to me?"

"Here." I handed him over the notebook alongside the exercice book.

"Let me see..." He began to explain to me how to solve the problem. "You do it like this..."

"...and it's done, now if you don't mind, I have to go." He left his seat and was heading to the door.

'I need to buy Tokoha-chan more time!" I thought as Shindou-kun was about to leave the classroom.

"Wait, there is a subject that I didn't not understand very well and I really need your help!" I made up an excuse to stall for more time.

"Ok. Show me the subject that you are struggling against." I showed him my English book. He patiently explained the subject while correcting any mistakes that I did during his tutoring, which lasted seven minutes. "Did you understood everything, or do you need me to explain it again, Okazaki?"

'Now I feel really terrible for doing something like this after all the time he took to explain everything to me.'

"Yes, thank you, Shindou-kun!" I thanked him for helping me out, although, I kind of felt bad for using that as an excuse for Tokoha-chan to be able to buy us the croquette bread before Shindou-kun could.

"Crap! I must hurry before the croquette bread solds out!" Shindou-kun realized as he saw the time on his phone.

"Okazaki." He suddenly grabbed my shoulders, surprising me.

"Yes, Shindou-kun?" I asked him.

"Please, don't tell anyone what you're about to see. I do not want this to become another rumor." He went to the window, opened and jumped from it to the ground level.

"W-What!?" I ran to the window and saw that Shindou-kun was perfectly fine after performing a jump like that from the second floor and he began to run at a crazy speed.

"He's running just like Sonic the Hedgehog." I was surprised at how fast he was running.

"Oh no, I failed to keep Shindou-kun here long enough!" I turned my phone on and called Tokoha-chan. "He'll caught up to Tokoha-chan soon enough."

"Is there something wrong, Kumi-chan?" Tokoha-chan answered the call.

"Have you already got the croquette bread?" I asked her.

"No. But I will be in the Nishi Bakery in 10 minutes, why do you ask?" She answered me and asked.

"Because Shindou-kun is on the way there at Sonic Speed." I told her.

"What happened?" Tokoha asked me for the details of how Shindou-kun left so fast. "And what do you mean by 'Sonic Speed'?"

* * *

Anjou Tokoha's P.O.V

"He jumped from the window!?" I asked, shocked that Shindou actually had managed to jump from the second floor just like that.

"Yes, I'm sorry for failing to stall him any further, Tokoha-chan." Kumi-chan apologized to me on the phone.

"It's ok, Kumi-chan, neither of us could have known that he could be this stubborn." I told Kumi-chan that it was fine. "Seriously, is he even human?"

"Shindou-kun always seemed to be in excelent physical shape during P.E classes." Kumi-chan said as I agreed since Shindou's is an excellent athlete that even Kiba Shion can't match.

"That guy is almost a monster." I said as Shindou's latest feat amazed me in many ways. "But seriously, Shndou is only running fast because of the fear of not being able to buy croquette bread?" It was not like I couldn't understand him, after all, I made this plan in order to get them before he had the chance to buy them out again.

'I will try to hurry up before he arrives there.' I began to run.

"I have to go now, see you later, Kumi-chan." I ended the call as I ran at the best I could.

(2 minutes later)

"Coming through, get out of the way!" I heard Shindou yelling as he quickly passed through me at a very high speed.

"Just as Kumi-chan said, he's running like Sonic." How could he be so fast?

"Oh no!" I began to run even faster, but I didn't managed to caught up to him.

(5 minutes later)

(Nishi Bakery)

"I'm sorry Tokoha-chan, I just sold the last four croquettes two minutes ago." The owner apologized as my head went down from disapointment again.

"Let me guess, a super fast red-haired swirl at Sonic Speed?" Ryuga sneezed as when he entered the cardshop.

"Yes, your super fast chocolate cornet friend." The owner answered. "Although, he seemed to be in a rush to get here and left as quick as he came."

"We failed to buy them again..." I fell on my knees and began to tremble in frustration. "This is so frustrating!"

'I hope that she can come here before the boy and buy them before I get hurt.' Nishi thought as he saw Tokoha's mood getting worse by the second.

"By the way, who's Sonic?" He asked me who Sonic was. "Is he somekind of mascot that you kids are into nowadays?"

"He is the fastest hedgehog in the world!" I yelled at Nishi-san. "And Shindou ran just like him in order to get in MY way!"

"I-I'm sorry." Nishi-san kept apologizing to me.

"I will confront the swirl about it tomorrow!" I made my decision to confront him at school. "I will get some answers out of him!"

* * *

Shindou Ryuga's P.O.V

(Card Capital 2)

"That was too close." I arrived upstairs a bit tired after the race that I made for the croquette bread. "I almost thought that they were all sold out."

"Hello, Ryuga." Kamui greeted me and saw me catching my breath. "Why are you so exausted?"

"I was a bit late in getting to the bakery and I almost thought that they were all sold out." I explained to Kamui about the delay that I had at school.

"I see, but I see that you managed to get them." He pointed at the bag I was carrying.

"Yup, I bought the last four ones." I said with a smile at the thought of eating one.

"We only needed three for us to enjoy." Kamui points out. "So why did you bought four of them?"

"I know, but it was for my dinner tonight." Kamui understood as we began to eat after Shin arrived.

"Did you say that Kumi-chan asked for your help with a homework assignment?" Kamui asked and I nod.

"Yeah. It was the first time that she asked for my help to complete an assignment, which it was a bit odd."

"How so?" Shin asked while eating his croquette bread.

"She usually asks Anjou to help her out instead of me, so I thought that something was up, but since it's Okazaki, I quickly dismissed it and helped her, but I still can't shake the feeling that it was intentional." I told them about my small suspicion.

"Could it be that you were on to something?" Kamui asks.

"It could be, but Okazaki Kumi doesn't scheme...at least on her own." Tokoha appeared in my mind as a possible suspect.

'But why would she try to stall me?' I couldn't find a reason for her to do something like that, so I dismissed all my suspicions on them.

"Who cares?" I dismissed the topic. "Let's just eat!" I continued to eat, unaware that a certain green-haired girl was fumming in anger as her peach-haired friend was calming her down.

* * *

Anjou Tokoha's P.O.V

(Classroom 2-B)

"Shindou!" I went to his table and started to yell at him, as usual. "Do you even know what you did this time!?"

"What are you talking about, Anjou?" Shindou, who was not aware of my reason to be angry at him, asked.

"You know very well what you've been doing for the past few days, so don't act innocent!" I insisted in making him realize his guilt.

"As I asked before, what are you even talking about?" He asked once again as I just decided to spill the beans since he wasn't getting there.

"Why have you have been buy-" I stopped myself in time, because everyone around us would think that I was a glutton if I even asked why he has been buying our croquette bread for the past few days.

"Buying what?" He asked, but I couldn't say it out loud.

"I-it's nothing." I left Shindou's table and returned to my seat. "Just forget it, ok?"

'She is so weird sometimes.' Ryuga though as Tokoha began to speak with Kumi. 'But why was she so mad?'

(A week later)

After we had failed in getting croquette bread before Shindou for an entire week, I had decided to give upon them since they were always taken by the swirl. But today this was going to be a good Sunday, because we were heading to the Community Center where the Quest that I and Kumi-chan decided to participate would take place.

"I'm nervous..." Kumi-chan said as she was a bit nervous.

"It's a quest for girls, right?" I reasured her that it would be fine. "So take it easy."

(Community Center)

We entered a room where girls were gathered, some eating snacks, chatting and even doing Vanguard fights.

"Oh!" Kumi like what she saw.

"See? It looks fun, doesn't it? I told her that it would be fine.

"Nice to meet you." A girl came to us. "I'm Tahara, the sponsor of this Quest. Thank you for coming." Tahara introduced herself to us.

"I'm Okazaki Kumi, nice to meet you." Kumi introduced herself to Tahara.

"I'm Anjou Tokoha." I introduced myself as well.

"Anjou?" Anjou... Don't tell me..." Tahara almost figured it out.

'Did she caught on it already?' I though, afraid of what would happen when they found out who's my brother.

"Are you related to Anjou Mamoru?" She said, suspecting that I was related to my brother.

"Oh come on! There's no way that Anjou Mamoru's sibling would be here!"

"I recognize her! They had a sibling showdown at the last festival held by the Dragon Empire Branch!"

'I've been found out!' This is going go be so awkward.

"Are really Anjou Mamoru's little sister?" They quickly surrounded me as Kumi-chan just watched.

'That nickname again!'

"No way! I am a big fan of your brother!"

'Why can't you leave my brother out of this?'

"Let's fight!"

"Forget it! I noticed her first, so I get to fight first!"

"Me too!"

"I'm so proud to say that I fought Mamoru-sama's little sister!"

'That has nothing to do with my brother!'

"Hey, let's be friends, little sister!"

'My name is not "little sister", it's Anjou Tokoha!'

"Stop!" I was tired of being bothered by them because they just kept mentioning my brother.

"This was supposed to be a fun quest!" I said out loud. "This has nothing to do with who is the little sister of whom !"

"But you are his little sister, right?"

'Yes, but that has nothing to do with why I am here!'

"Have you already organized the details of the tournament that was going to be made here?" I asked Tahara, who became a bit nervous by this question.

"Um... I thought that we could figure all that out when everyone got here..." She didn't had anything planned at all, hadn't she?

"So let's get started!" I managed to find an excuse to get away from the mini-crowd. "If you don't have a tournament bracket, I will make one!"

"Really? That would be great..." Tahara said with some relief.

"Leave it to me!" I boldly declared.

"So cool!"

"She's not the little sister of a clan leader for nothing!"

'Don't say something that has nothing to do with this!'

"I bet that she is a strong fighter, just like her brother!"

'I'm nothing like my brother!'

"There's no way that she'd be weak since she is Mamoru-sama's little sister."

'Why do you people keep comparing me to my brother!?' I completely gave up on that and began to work out the details for the tournament.

"T-Tokoha-chan..." Kumi couldn't help but to notice that Tokoha was really sad.

"Sorry Kumi-chan. Help me here a bit." I asked for her help.

"O-okay..." Kumi-chan accepted, althought, she wasn't much of a help.

'Tokoha-chan is really sad.' Kumi thought to herself as she saw her green-haired friend making the tournament bracket. 'I've never seen her like this before.'

(2 Hours later)

"Thank you, Anjou-san. The Quest was a major success thanks to you." Tahara thanked me for the Quest's success.

"As expected of Mamoru-sama's little sister."

'That again. Why placing expectations on "Mamoru's little sister", instead of Anjou Tokoha?'

"Give our brother our best regards." They left the entrance to go on their separate ways.

'My brother always comes out as a topic. But nothing about Anjou Tokoha.'

"Shall we go?" I asked Kumi-chan.

"Yeah." She agreed and we left.

(At the river)

"Sorry about that." I apologized to Kumi-chan for what happened at the Quest as we took a quick stop in the river. "It was supposed to be a quiet event."

"It's okay. I am the one who should be apologizing since I couldn't do anything to help you." Kumi-chan also apologized for being unable to help me.

"When did it start?" I asked, already knowing the answer from inside. "If I lose it's always, 'Even though she is Anjou Mamoru's little sister...', but when I win it changes to 'That's because she is Anjou Mamoru's little sister.' ."

"Tokoha-chan." Kumi-chan kept listening to my complains.

"I am fully aware that neither me or my brother are at fault for this, but..." I couldn't help but feel sad that nobody there even tried to acknowledge me as the Vanguard fighter, Anjou Tokoha instead of 'Anjou Mamoru's little sister'.

"So that's why you said that you weren't entering the tournament?" Kumi-chan finally understood why I wanted to avoid entering the event. Because if I entered, I would be treated as Anjou Mamoru's little sister instead of Anjou Tokoha and that would really mean that I don't really matter as a person instead of the image of being my brother's little sister. And I didn't want for that to happen.

"It used to about just having fun." I remembered the times when I just wanted to enjoy Vanguard with my brother and smile, despite of who won or lost. "How did things got to this point?" I looked at the sky, wondering if I could enjoy that kind of freedom someday.

"Darn it! There's no point in feeling bad for my self right now!" I said, not feeling any self pity anymore.

"I'm going to try again with Nishi Bakery's croquette bread!" I was determined to get them this time, because I had a feeling that I would succeed this time.

"Ok!" Kumi-chan nod her head as we went to Nishi's Bakery.

(Nishi Bakery)

"That's Shindou-kun over there, isn't he?" We saw Shindou was being given a large bag by Nishi-san.

'How long does he plan to get in my way ?' I won't let him get away with this! "Because this time I won't give up on them!"

"I won't let him get in my way today!" I began to run in his direction to claim my prize. "He will not ruin my chance to eat croquette bread again!"

"Wait Tokoha-chan!" Kumi called out, but I didn't listen as I kept running in his direction as a turned his head around and saw me.

'Prepare yourself, swirl head!' My eyes had a fire that didn't lit in a very long time. 'Because I won't give up this time.'

* * *

Shindou Ryuga's P.O.V

(Nishi Bakery)

"Thank you for buying." Nishi-san handed me a bag full of delicious looking croquette bread and I was about to leave until I saw a certain green-haired and peach-haired duo as the previous was running in my direction.

'Anjou?' I wondered why she was in such a rush. 'Wait a second...is she heading straight for me?'

"Shindou!" Tokoha rushed at me and tried to snatch the bag from me, but I took a step back and grabbed her wrist with my other hand without applying any strenght to prevent myself from hurting her.

"What's your problem?" I asked Tokoha as she kept her glare at me while trying to free herself from my grip passed that look to Nishi-san, then at the croquette bread display that was now empty thanks to me.

"I-I'm sorry, please don't hurt me." Nishi-san apologized to Tokoha as she turned her head and meet my gaze.

"Why do you keep buying our croquette bread?" Tokoha asked me with a distressed face as she was still struggling for freedom.

"When did it the croquette bread became your property?" I asked with a raised eyebrow as I let her go. "And the reason for why I keep buying them because they are now my new favorite snack, of course."

"And how many of them are in that bag?" Tokoha asked, knowing that it wasn't just 2 or 3 croquette bread that were inside the paper bag.

"Seven of them." I told them, making a tick mark appear on her hair.

"Why seven, Shindou-kun?" Kumi, who was curious of why I bought so many of them, asked. "You don't need to eat so many of them, do you?"

"Three of them are for my clients who asked me to get them, one for me and another three for my dinner." I answered Kumi's question with a proud face. However, Tokoha wasn't amused in the least by my answer.

"You could have least give 2 of them to us!" Tokoha yelled at me. "So, don't be greedy!"

"Why should I hand them over to a rude girl who clearly had the intent to steal?" I refused while scolding her actions, which lacked maturity.

"Why don't we settle this with a fight?" She proposed as I was about to refuse, until I saw the look of her eyes, which I never saw from her before.

'She's different from before.' I couldn't help but to feel jealous of the determination that her eyes were showing.

"I will accept your challenge, Anjou." I decided to fight her in order to find out what made her this deternimed as it was different from her usual look.

* * *

Anjou Tokoha's P.O.V

"If I win, I get the entire bag." I demanded him to hand over the bag if I won.

"Fine by me." Shindou agreed.

"The field is a forest in the green continent of Zoo. Is that okay with you?" I choose the battlefield, but I asked if he was fine with it.

"Yeah, I don't really care where we fight." He replied.

"Which one of us is the most deserving of the miraculous croquette breads?" I made a declaration. "This will decide it!"

"Yes, only the most deserving individuals can get their hands on this divine food and taste it!" Shindou declared as well.

"Good luck, Tokoha-chan, Shindou-kun." Kumi-chan wished us luck.

"Stand up, Vanguard!" I stood my Vanguard.

"Stand up, Owari no Vanguard!" Shindou stood his Vanguard as well.

"Spring-Heralding Maiden, Ozu (G0/ 5000)!" A small maiden appeared in the middle of the forest.

"Tick-Tock Dracokid (G0/ 5000)!" The green dragon appeared in front of Ozu in the same environment.

 _ **Turn 1 - Anjou Tokoha**_

"I ride Budding Maiden, Diane (G1/ 8000)!" Ozu became a maiden wielding a pink sword.

"I am moving Ozu to the back and I end my turn." Ozu appeard behind Diane.

* * *

 **Anjou Tokoha's Board - (Budding Maiden, Diane - (VC) ),** **(Spring-Heralding Maiden, Ozu - (RC) behind (VG))**

 **Damage [] [] [] [] [] [] Hand:5 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone:**

 **Shindou Ryuga's Board- (** **Tick-Tock Dracokid** **\- (VC) )**

 **Damage [] [] [] [] [] [] Hand:5 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone:  
**

* * *

 _ **Turn 2 - Shindou Ryuga**_

"Draw, Ride! Masergear Dragon (G1/ 8000)!" Masergear took Tick-Tock's place as the Vanguard.

"I will move Tick-Tock behind my Vanguard and call another Masergear Dragon and attack with it (8000)." The Masergear that he just called fired a laser from it's chest.

"Guard! Maiden of Dimorphotheca (G0/ 5000)!" She took the hit in Diane's place.

"Boosted by Tick-Tock, my Masergear will attack your Vanguard (13000) !" His Vanguard and Tick-Tock fired at the same time.

"No guard." I didn't guard this attack.

"Drive trigger check, none [Glimmer Breath Dragon (G2/ 9000)]." The attack created an explosion.

"Damage check,none [Knight of Transience, Marehope (G1/ 7000)]." I placed my card in the damage.

"I end my turn." Shindou ended his turn and looked at me.

"Is there something wrong?" He asked me to my confusion.

"What are you talking about?" I asked back.

"It must have been my imagination." He muttered to himself.

* * *

 **Anjou Tokoha's Board - (Budding Maiden, Diane - (VC) ),** **(Spring-Heralding Maiden, Ozu - (RC) behind (VG))**

 **Damage [Knight of Transience, Marehope] [] [] [] [] [] Hand:4 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone: 1x Maiden of Dimorphotheca**

 **Shindou Ryuga's Board-** **(Masergear Dragon - (VC) ), (** **Tick-Tock Dracokid** **-** **(RC) behind (VG)** **),** **(Masergear Dragon** **-** **(RC) to the left of the (VG) in the front row** **)**

 **Damage [] [] [] [] [] [] Hand:5 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone:  
**

* * *

 _ **Turn 3 - Anjou Tokoha**_ **  
**  
"I ride Blossoming Maiden, Cela (G2/ 10000) !" Diane became Cela.

"I will be calling Grace Knight (G2/ 9000) and Valkyrie of Reclamation, Padmini (G1/ 7000)." Grace Knight and Padmini appeared by my side.

"Boosted by Ozu, I will attack your Vanguard (15000)!

"No guard." Shindou didn't guard.

"Drive trigger check,none [Full Bloom Dragon (G3/ 10000)]." Cela's staff hit his Vanguard.

"Damage check,none [Steam Striker,Workin (G1/ 7000)]."

"Boosted by Padmini, Grace attacks your Vanguard (16000)!" Grace fired an arrow.

"No guard." He didn't guard once again as the arrow connected.

"Damage Check,none [Smokegear Dragon (G2/ 10000)]." He placed his card in the damage zone.

"I end my turn." I ended my turn and a sudden realization came to me as I looked at him.

'Come to think of it, this is the first time that I am fighting him directly.' To think that our first Vanguard fight would be over food, it was really ironic because I always wanted to fight him ever since I saw that fight against the bully at school and now I got my wish.

* * *

 **Anjou Tokoha's Board - (Blossoming Maiden, Cela - (VC) ),** **(Spring-Heralding Maiden, Ozu - (RC) behind (VG)) ,** **(Grace Knigh** t **-** **(RC) to the left of the (VG) in the front row** **),** **(Valkyrie of Reclamation, Padmini** **-** **(RC) to the left of the (VG) in the back row** **)**

 **Damage [Knight of Transience, Marehope] [] [] [] [] [] Hand:3 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone: 1x Maiden of Dimorphotheca**

 **Shindou Ryuga's Board-** **(Masergear Dragon - (VC) ), (** **Tick-Tock Dracokid** **-** **(RC) behind (VG)** **),** **(Masergear Dragon** **-** **(RC) to the left of the (VG) in the front row** **)**

 **Damage [Steam Striker,Workin] [Smokegear Dragon] [] [] [] [] Hand:5 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone:  
**

* * *

 _ **Turn 4 - Shindou Ryuga**_

"Stand and Draw! Ride! Glimmer Breath Dragon (G2/ 9000) !" Glimmer Breath appeared on the field.

"I will call Steam Striker,Workin (G1/ 7000) behing Masergear and Glimmer Breath Dragon!" Workin and another Glimmer Breath appeared as well.

"Glimmer Breath attacks Grace Knight (9000)!" Glimmer Breath fired his laser at Grace.

'My hand is not good to handle his attacks right now.' I had no choice but to declare a no guard.

"No guard." Grace was destroyed.

"With a boost from Tick-Tock, I attack your Vanguard (14000)!

"No guard."

"Drive check,Get critical trigger[Heart Thump Worker (G0/4000)] ! I give the critical to my Vanguard (Crit 1-2) and the power goes to Masergear (8000-13000)!"

"Damage check. First check, none [Maiden of Passionflower (G1/ 6000/ Sentinel)]. Second Check, a heal trigger [Fairy Light Dragon (G0/ 5000)]. I heal one point of damage and give all effects to my Vanguard (10000-15000)."

'This is bad, because now he will...' I knew what was coming next.

"I activate Tick-Tock's skill to send Ozu to the bottom of your Deck." Ozu disappeared in a purple hole. "And I draw 1 card." He drew a card.

"Boosted by Workin, Masergear attacks your Vanguard (20000)!" Masergear fired his laser as Workin appeared behind Cela to cut any escape route.

"No guard."

"Damage check,none [Maiden of Gladiolus (G2/ 9000)]."

"Your move Anjou." Shindou ended his turn.

* * *

 **Anjou Tokoha's Board - (Blossoming Maiden, Cela - (VC) ),** **(Valkyrie of Reclamation, Padmini** **-** **(RC) to the left of the (VG) in the back row** **)**

 **Damage [Maiden of Passionflower] [Fairy Light Dragon] [Maiden of Gladiolus] [] [] [] Hand:3 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone: 1x Maiden of Dimorphotheca ; 1x** **Knight of Transience, Marehope**

 **Shindou Ryuga's Board-** **(Glimmer Breath Dragon - (VC) ),** **(Masergear Dragon** **-** **(RC) to the left of the (VG) in the front row** **) ,** **(** **Steam Striker,Workin** **-** **(RC) to the left of the (VG) in the back row** **),** **(Glimmer Breath Dragon -** **(RC) to the right of the (VG) in the front row** **)**

 **Damage [Steam Striker,Workin] (Facedown) [Smokegear Dragon] [] [] [] [] Hand:4 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone:  
**

* * *

 _ **Turn 5 - Anjou Tokoha**_

"Tokoha-chan..." Kumi-chan was worried about my current situation.

"As expected from the person who beat Jaime Alcaraz and my brother." I couldn't help but to feel jealous of him because he keeps on surpassing every obstacle that appears before him, unlike me, who just gives up.

What's wrong?" He asked out loud.

"What do you mean?" I'm fine, I'm absolutely fine...

"I have been feeling nothing but sadness from your fight." He points out. "Where is the fire that you had in your eyes a few minutes ago?"

"It's just your imagination!" I yelled at him for almost figuring it out.

"Tokoha-chan..."

"Twinkling bub, it's time to blossom! Ride! Ranunculus Flower Maiden, Ahsha (G3/ 11000)!" I tuned into my Avatar unit that is like a sister to me.

"I move Padmini to the front and attack your Vanguard with Ahsha (11000)!" Ahsha launched herself at his Glimmer Breath.

"No guard."

"Drive check,Get critical trigger [Maiden of Dimorphotheca[G0/ 5000)] ! Giving the critical to Ahsha (Crit 1-2) and the power goes to Padmini (7000-12000). Second Check, none [Ranunculus Flower Maiden, Ahsha(G3/ 11000)]" Ahsha's staff hit his Vanguard, making it fall.

"Damage check. First check, none [Steam Maiden, Arlim (G1/ 6000/ Sentinel)]. Second Check, get draw trigger [Luckypot Dracokid (G0/ 4000)]. I draw 1 card and give all effects to my Vanguard (9000-14000)."

"Padmini attacks the Glimmer Breath rear-guard (12000)!" Padmini aimed for his rear-guard.

"Guard!" Steam Breath Dragon blocked the attack.

"This is my Vanguard!" I declared.

"Is it?" He asked, confusing me once again. "It's full of doubts."

"What do you mean by that?" I was starting to get annoyed with this enigma of his.

* * *

 **Anjou Tokoha's Board - (Ranunculus Flower Maiden, Ahsha - (VC) ),** **(Valkyrie of Reclamation, Padmini** **-** **(RC) to the left of the (VG) in the front row** **)**

 **Damage [Maiden of Passionflower] [Fairy Light Dragon] [Maiden of Gladiolus] [] [] [] Hand:5 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone: 1x Maiden of Dimorphotheca ; 1x** **Knight of Transience, Marehope**

 **Shindou Ryuga's Board-** **(Glimmer Breath Dragon - (VC) ),** **(Masergear Dragon** **-** **(RC) to the left of the (VG) in the front row** **) ,** **(** **Steam Striker,Workin** **-** **(RC) to the left of the (VG) in the back row** **),** **(Glimmer Breath Dragon -** **(RC) to the right of the (VG) in the front row** **)**

 **Damage [Steam Striker,Workin](Facedown) [Smokegear Dragon] [Steam Maiden, Arlim] [Luckypot Dracokid] [] [] Hand:3 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone:1x Steam Breath Dragon**

* * *

 _ **Turn 6 - Shindou Ryuga**_

"I mean that you are sad for some reason." He said, surprising me and Kumi-chan.

"Just fight already!" I couldn't believe that he was figuring me out.

"If that is what you want. Bring me the Future that I seek to create! Ride! Chronojet Dragon(G3/11000) !" His avatar unit showed up as the forest's wind stopped in time.

"Generation Zone...Release!" He discarted another copy of Chronojet Dragon from his hand to pay the cost as Chronojet began his STRIDE.

"Come from the future and and bring a new tomorrow! Stride Generation! Interdimensional Dragon, Ragnaclock Dragon (G4/ 26000)!" This was really bad.

"I activate Chronojet's Stride skill to send Padmini to the bottom of your Deck." And like that, my last rear-guard was gone.

"Now I will call Heart Thump Worker (G0/4000) behind Glimmer Breath and attack your Vanguard with Glimmer (13000)."

"Guard! Maiden of Dimorphotheca (SD 21000) !"

"Ragnaclock attacks your Vanguard (26000)! Skill activate! By paying 1 counterblast and flipping one copy from the G-Zone face-up you can't normal call grade 0 cards from your hand to the GC during this battle." Ragnaclock fired it's attack. "And with Thump Worker's skill, I draw 1 card and add 5000 power (26000-31000)."

'There's no point to guard since I don't have any Sentinels in my hand.'

"No guard."

"Triple Drive check. First check,Get critical trigger[Steam Battler, Meshda (G0/ 5000)]! Giving the critical to Ragnaclock (Crit 1-2) and the power to Masergear (8000-13000)! Second Check,none [Steam Maiden, Arlim (G1/ 6000/ sentinel)]. Third check,none [Steam Maiden, Arlim (G1/ 6000/ sentinel)].

"Damage trigger check. First check,none [Maiden of Passionflower (G1/ 6000/ Sentinel)]. Second check,none Maiden of Passionflower (G1/ 6000/ Sentinel)."

"Since I am at least Generation Break 1, Workin gains 4000 power during my turn if my Vanguard is of the Gear Dragon race (7000-11000)."

"With a boost from Workin, Masergear goes in for the finisher (24000)."

"Guard! Fairy Light Dragon (SD 21000) and Knight of Transience, Marehope (SD 26000)!" That was too close.

"You're amazing Tokoha-chan."

"Do you respect me a bit now?" I asked as I barely managed to survive this turn.

"Yeah. As expected from Anjou Tokoha, the green-haired yeller." Shindou said, but from my point of view, I heard something different.

"As expected from Anjou Mamoru's little sister." That name again...

"Even you of all people say that..." My tone was empty. "When all I wanted was to have a fight with someone who doesn't treat me like that, asides from Kumi-chan..."

"Anjou?" I couldn't hear his voice "What's wrong?"

"My name is Anjou Tokoha! Not Anjou Mamoru's little sister!" The frustration that was accumulated inside of me finally went out as I snapped at him.

'What's gotten into...could it be that she thinks that I said the name she hates?' Ryuga though as Tokoha was snapping at him.

"Tokoha-chan, Shindou-kun didn't called you that." I was too angry to properly listen to anyone right now.

* * *

 **Anjou Tokoha's Board - (Ranunculus Flower Maiden, Ahsha - (VC) )**

 **Damage [Maiden of Passionflower] [Fairy Light Dragon] [Maiden of Gladiolus] [Maiden of Passionflower] [Maiden of Passionflower] [] Hand:2 GB:0**

 **Drop Zone: 1x Maiden of Dimorphotheca ; 1x** **Knight of Transience, Marehope**

 **Shindou Ryuga's Board-** **(Chronojet Dragon - (VC) ),** **(Masergear Dragon** **-** **(RC) to the left of the (VG) in the front row** **) ,** **(** **Steam Striker,Workin** **-** **(RC) to the left of the (VG) in the back row** **),** **(Glimmer Breath Dragon -** **(RC) to the right of the (VG) in the front row** **)**

 **Damage [Steam Striker,Workin](Facedown) [Smokegear Dragon](Facedown) [Steam Maiden, Arlim](Facedown) [Luckypot Dracokid] [] [] Hand:5 GB:2**

 **Generation Zone Face-up: 2x** **Interdimensional Dragon, Ragnaclock Dragon**

 **Drop Zone:1x Steam Breath Dragon ; 1x Chronojet Dragon  
**

* * *

 _ **Turn 7 - Anjou Tokoha**_

"Stride! Flower Princess of Spring, Arborea (G4/ 26000)!"

"What?" Shindou asked.

'She just did a misplay right now.' Ryuga though as he was aware that Tokoha had 'Flower Princess of Spring's Beginning, Primavera' as a better Stride option right now. 'If she had called one of the last cards, she could use Primavera's skilll to call two more copies of that unit and increase her odds of getting a trigger. But I guess that she is too clouded to reason properly.'

"I will attack your Vanguard (26000)!" I was out of control.

"Perfect Guard!" Ryuga discarted the other Arlim and countercharged.

I didn't got a single trigger or Sentinel and his turn was about to start, which means that it will be over when he strides Ragnaclock Dragon again. This going to be a "Even though she is Mamoru's little sister" from his part after I lose now.

* * *

 **Anjou Tokoha's Board - (Ranunculus Flower Maiden, Ahsha - (VC) )**

 **Damage [Maiden of Passionflower] [Fairy Light Dragon] [Maiden of Gladiolus] [Maiden of Passionflower] [Maiden of Passionflower] [] Hand:5 GB:1**

 **Generation Zone Face-up: 1x Flower Princess of Spring, Arborea  
**

 **Drop Zone: 1x Maiden of Dimorphotheca ; 2x** **Knight of Transience, Marehope ; 1x** **Fairy Light Dragon ;** **1x** **Full Bloom Dragon**

 **Shindou Ryuga's Board-** **(Chronojet Dragon - (VC) ),** **(Masergear Dragon** **-** **(RC) to the left of the (VG) in the front row** **) ,** **(** **Steam Striker,Workin** **-** **(RC) to the left of the (VG) in the back row** **),** **(Glimmer Breath Dragon -** **(RC) to the right of the (VG) in the front row** **)**

 **Damage [Steam Striker,Workin](Facedown) [Smokegear Dragon] [Steam Maiden, Arlim](Facedown) [Luckypot Dracokid] [] [] Hand:3 GB:2**

 **Generation Zone Face-up: 2x** **Interdimensional Dragon, Ragnaclock Dragon**

 **Drop Zone:1x Steam Breath Dragon ; 1x Chronojet Dragon ; 2x** **Steam Maiden, Arlim** **  
**

* * *

 _ **Turn 8 - Shindou Ryuga**_

"I think that you misunderstood something." What did I misunderstood?

"I didn't call you that 'Mamoru's little sister' because I know that you seemed to hate when that name is mentioned." He didn't?

"Sorry if you mistook my words for something like that." You didn't do anything wrong, I was the one who jumped to conclusions once again.

"But I was having fun, because this was the first time that I saw you doing your best, unlike in a few fights I've seen you taking part of." I used to think like that a long time ago.

"Don't let anyone's expectations to beat you down and don't quit." What do you mean by not quit?

"You shouldn't let what other people say about you." You mean the 'little sister' ?

"I don't know exactly what you have been through for the last days without getting a croquette bread." He believes that this is still about food? "But you shouldn't let your sadness consume you."

"Look at Okazaki there." He pointed a worried looking Kumi-chan. "She's been like that since you snapped, and I'm also concerned about it." I see, I was so centered in that for the last few days, that I was getting more and more angrier at myself and began to lash at the people around me, even he who had tolerated this attitude of mine just now and worried them.

He strided Ragnaclock Dragon and attacked me for the final damage as my mind was at finally at peace, rid of the worries that had me filled for the last week.

"Tokoha-chan."

'He's a real idiot, but... I don't hate it.'

"I lost!" I said that with a satisfied expression.

"Thank you for a good fight, Shindou." I thanked him for the fight and he said nothing.

"Hey...Shindou?" He just gave me the bag.

"Just keep them before I change my mind about it." He said as he went to his bike.

"Now I have to deal with Misaki-san's wrath." He muttered as I managed to hear what he said. "I am not looking forward to this at all." With that he took off in his bike.

"Poor Shindou-kun..." Kumi-chan said as I also felt pity for him after figuring about that his client was the rumored scary shop manager.

"We should return these." I and Kumi-chan went to cardcapital. "We didn't deserve them after all he said to me, and we can't eat all of them."

* * *

(30 minutes later...)

Shindou Ryuga's P.O.V

(Cardcapital 2)

"I am so dead." I arrived at the shop and locked my bike downstairs and went up and entered inside. "Misaki is going to murder all of us."

"Where are the croquette breads?" Shin asked me with a curious look as he noticed that I wasn't carrying anything with me.

"You see..." I told them that the croquette breads were sold out.

"What do you mean sold out!?" Kamui yelled at me with a small hint of fear. "We are doomed!" He held his head.

"This is bad." Shin was shaking in fear, not that I could blame him for it, after all we were in deep shit. "I promissed Misaki that I would get one for her to eat." His phone rang and we saw that it was Misaki's contact, Shin and Kamui shook in fear.

"I will pick it up." I took the phone as Shin and Kamui went back while making a no no sign to answer the call.

'You bunch of cowards.' I thought as I while answering the call, although I was scared as well. 'Sometimes, a man must take the fall in order to rise even stronger than ever.'

"Hello, Misaki-san?" I answered to see if anyone was on the line.

"Is that you Ryuga?" She asked me about the croquette bread while Kamui and Shin were shivering in pure fear as I was annoyed by their actions. "Did you managed to get the croquette bread? I'm looking forward to it."

"I will explain everything in a few moments, after Shin-san and Kamui-san stop hidding and come to hear it from you as well." I didn't gave them much of a choice, since if I was going to be killed, I might as well drag them down to hell with me.

"Did something happen?" Misaki asked as I placed the phone on speak mode so that everyone around the store could hear what she was saying."And why did you picked the call instead of Shin?"

"I picked up because Shin-san is over there with Kamui-san at the corner of the store shaking in fear for some reason." I told her as I hear a smack sound. I turned around and saw Kamui with his hand on his forehead.

Shin on the otherside was shaking his head while pinching the bridge of his nose.

'You two are pathetic.' I sneered at them in thought and shook my head.

"About the croquette breads, I gave them to Anjou and Okazaki." I admited that I gave them away to the girls.

"You know that you were given you the money to buy mine and Shin's right?" Misaki said a bit annoyed by this as Kamui and Shin almost fainted from fear. "But I will allow you to explain yourself since you admited what you did."

"Earlier when I saw Anjou at the Nishi's bakery, she seemed to be in a bad mood and challenged me to a fight." I began to tell her what transpired between us. "I was about to refuse when I saw something that I've never seen in her for the first time."

"I saw her passion to fight for something that she desired." I said as I recalled the look she had in her eyes. "It was a beautufill sight. So beautifull that I was jealous of her."

"But during our fight, I could sense that something was bothering her." I made a small pause. "It turned out that it had something to do with the fact that she is always refered as Mamoru-san's little sister instead of her own name."

"..." Misaki and the others kept listenning to my tale quietly.

"The reason for such pain was most likely because Anjou, who only wished to be called by her own name, get's treated as 'Anjou Mamoru's little sister' instead of 'Anjou Tokoha' due to being in the same family as a clan leader. so I can only imagine how lonely she must have felt each time that she was called like that." I recalled how lonely I felt when tragedy felt upon me in my previous life, so I could understand the feeling of not being needed as a person. "Because it must have made her feel like what only mattered was the 'little sister' instead of the person herself."

"Didn't you say something like that to us the other day?" Kamui, who was still on the corner, finally asked.

"Yes, but what I didn't said back then, is that Mamoru-san is aware that Tokoha avoids fighting him for some reason that he doesnt understand, specially why she even stopped fighting him." I remembered what we talked about the other day. "But deep inside I believe that he already knows what's really going on, but he can't find it in his heart to tell her because he doesn't want to hurt his precious little sister or he is still confused about it, despite being the person who he is."

"It's not anyone's fault, but the bitter feeling always remains even if it was unintentional." Misunderstandings can lead to sadness, distrust and worse of all, it creates a web of confusion that can never be completely recovered from unless it's solved, but that is still not enough to erase the feeling that was left behind.

"If someone is to have expectations on someone, that person will break at some point like it happened during our fight earlier." Tokoha's outburst has a clear proof of that.

"And the only one who can solve that is Anjou Tokoha herself, so it's not my place to decide for her."

"So even after I won, I couldn't help but wanting to give them the croquette bread." I said recalling my victory over her. "It was the first time that I saw her gaining a heart as a fighter instead of the usual boring person who is always yelling at me for almost no reason."

"Didn't you regret giving them up after you won?" Misaki finally spoke and asked.

"Nah. I don't regret doing that if it meant helping her out a bit, even if she's annoying sometimes." I said with a smile in my face. "After all she's the fighter, Anjou Tokoha." I finished giving my explanation and now I was awaiting for my sentence, which most likely be guilty, not aware that a certain pair was listenning to this conversation.

* * *

(A few minutes earlier...)

Anjou Tokoha's P.O.V

We arrived at the shop to hear Kamui-san yelling at Shindou as we stayed behind the door to listen to whatever they were saying when a phone rang.

"Hello, Misaki-san?" We overheard him speaking with Misaki-san as Shin-san and Kamui-san were shaking in fear with each word that was being said and even made a few pathetic reactions.

"About the croquette breads, I gave them to Anjou and Okazaki." We heard him describe what exactly happened between us during our fight and how much in a sour mood I was at the time, so much that I vented my anger at him during the fight.

"Earlier when I saw her at the Nishi's bakery, she seemed to be in a bad mood and challenged me to a fight." I began to tell her what transpired between us. "I was about to refuse when I saw something that I've never seen in her for the first time."

'What did he saw about me?' I was curious about what he was going to say.

"I saw her passion to fight for something that she desired." Shindou said as he kept talking. "It was a beautifull sight. So beautifull that I was jealous of her."

'Beautifull?' My face went red from his words, but returned to normal afterwards. 'Why was he jealous when he is strong?'

"But during our fight, I could sense that something was bothering her." He revealed the source of my sadness. "It turned out that it had something to do with the fact that she is always refered as Mamoru-san's little sister instead of her own name."

'So he noticed as well.' He managed to figure out what was actually bothering me.

"The reason for such pain was most likely because Anjou, who only wished to be called by her own name, get's treated as 'Anjou Mamoru's little sister' instead of 'Anjou Tokoha' due to being in the same family as a clan leader. so I can only imagine how lonely she must have felt each time that she was called like that." Shindou was making a perfect description of how I suffered because of who I am. "Because it must have made her feel like what only mattered was the 'little sister' instead of the person herself."

'He understands how I feel.' I couldn't believe that someone knew how I felt despite not telling him anything about me.

I kept listening to each word that he said about me and my brother, but I didn't had the courage to enter inside and say anything as we both knew that he was telling the truth.

"Nah. I don't regret doing that if it meant helping her out a bit, even if she's annoying sometimes." Shindou said with a smile. "After all she's the fighter, Anjou Tokoha." He had acknowledged me as Anjou Tokoha instead of the usual 'Mamoru's little sister' that everyone treats me as.

'What is this feeling?' My heart felt heavier for some reason. I was ashamed and yet, so happy that someone asides from my family and Kumi-chan didn't treat me as the little sister of a clan leader, but as Anjou Tokoha.

"Are you alright, Tokoha-chan?" Kumi-chan whispered to me. "Your face is red." she pointed that my face that was red as I couldn't understand why it was burning, but I was really happy because of his words.

* * *

Shindou Ryuga's P.O.V

"In that case, you are forgiven, but before I end the call...SHIN! KAMUI!" Misaki adressed to them as I was a bit afraid of what may happen to those cowards. "I know that you are listenning to this call, so pick this phone right now!" Shin and Kamui picked it up with tears as they were forced to get a lashing from Misaki.

I heard the sound of the door opening. "The store is about to close, you have to come...Anjou, Okazaki?" Tokoha, whose face was red for some reason and Kumi walked into the store with the bag of croquette bread that I gave them earlier.

"We came here to give this back to you." Tokoha softly shoved the bag into me." I am sorry for being so mean to you earlier."

"You didn't need to apologize, it's not like you did something wrong." I got an idea as they were about to leave the shop.

"Do the two of you want to join us and eat these?" I invited them to eat with us, pointing at the bag.

Misaki arrived a few minutes later and scolded Shin and Kamui even further for their cowardice and gave them the lecture of their lifes.

'Yikes.' I thought as mini-ghosts were coming out of Kamui and Shin's mouths. 'Remind me to never piss her off.'

"Delicious!" Kumi said with a happy look.

"Aren't these the best?" Tokoha asked me and Kumi she took another bite from her snack. "These are number one!"

"Couldn't agree more." I answered her as we made a lot of topics regarding this wonderfull snack.

"How does it feel to eat the miraculous croquette bread, after a whole week of failing to get them, Anjou? "I asked Tokoha who in turn avoided looking at me for some reason. "Are you feeling alright, Anjou?"

"Y-yeah, thank you for letting us eat with you despite what happened between us earlier, Shindou." The red faced Tokoha thanked me as I kept eating my croquete bread.

"No problem." I continued to eat mine. "I never get tired of eating them."

'I think that I will try to challenge myself once more...' Tokoha thought as she kept eating her snack and looked at Ryuga and smiled at him. 'And I won't lose to you the next time we fight because you acknowledged me.'

(Next day during break)

"Here." A red faced Tokoha handed me over some money.

"Money?" I asked. "I don't recall gambling with you."

"It's the money for the croquette bread that I and Kumi-chan ate, don't you dare to return it." Tokoha didn't gave me any opportunity to refuse. "And the extra we just gave you is to buy for all of us after classes are over!"

'That was weird.' I thought as she went back to her seat and talked with Kumi, who seemed to be amused for some reason. 'Who cares as long I can eat for free.'

* * *

(Four days later)

(Card Capital 2)

I was at Card Capital 2, listenning the tale of how this Lamb called Ogawa fell in love with a girl that he fought one day when he came here to the shop. The description wall so well done that I could see the entire scenario hapening from my mind...and now he made a weird pose.

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked him with my mouth still opened because of his weird pose, the person in front of me quickly came to his senses.

"F-forget what you saw just now!" The lamb told me to forget his embarassing moment and I did so in order to forget the 'visual' .

"You're trying to tell me that you fell in love with this girl and you want me to find her, so that you can return the 'Battle Cupic, Nociel' card that she left behind here to her?" I asked him, holding the said card as he gave a shy nod. "I get it. I will find her for you, so leave it to me."

"Y-yeah, but..." He seemed that he wanted to ask me something as I was about to leave with the card.

"But what?" I asked since he wasn't saying out loud.

"You really are a brute, aren't you, Shindou?" Tokoha, who was with Shion, scolded me for no reason.

"What did I do this time?" I asked her, not understanding why I got scolded just now. "I just offered myself to find the girl that he likes, right?" The lamb blushed when I said that.

"Sheesh, you're so dense, Shindou." Tokoha admonished me.

"You still don't get it?" Shion also did the same.

"Get to the point already." I said, tired of their charade. "I've got to act like cupid and find this lamb's lost girlfriend, so be quick about it."

"G-girlfriend?" The lamb's muttered with a red face. "I'm not a lamb, am I?"

"The point is that this guy..." Tokoha began her explanation.

"I'm Ogawa." The lamb gave out his name since Tokoha didn't know, interrupting her.

"Ogawa-san fought that girl just once and fell in love with...huh? You knew that he fell in love?" Tokoha asked with a surprised face.

"I already knew that this guy fell in love with her from the way that he was acting around me just now, so thank you very much for telling me something that I already know, Anjou." I was really insulted by this right now. "Do you think that I'm stupid or something?"

"No, but I thought that you didn't realize that he fell in love with that girl." Tokoha said.

"Don't say that in front of everybody!" The red-faced Ogawa was now being stared by everyone around, who were making teasing grins.

"If you don't mind, we have a Quest to complete." Shion tried to grab the card from my hand, but I caught his wrist before that.

"You're the third person who assigned to this Quest." Tokoha also tried to grab the card from my hand, but I swep it away.

"What are you trying to do?" I asked them as she was still atempting to steal it from me and let Shion's wrist go. "And what do you mean by 'third person' ?"

"Nobody told me that 'extra' people were involved." I gave Ogawa a dangerous look. "So, would you mind to fill me in, Lamb?"

"To tell you the truth..." Ogawa explained that he also asked for reinforcements without letting me know. "...and so I decided to change it a few seconds after you accepted it."

"You doublebooked us!?" We stared at him for double-crossing us by not telliing me about them participating as well. "Why didn't you tell me that from the beginning?"

"Because I thought that you might agree regardless of the extra number of people." Ogawa said, not taking consideration about my opinion on the matter.

'You really think that I would agree to something that I didn't know of? This is no Under Quest and yet, this feels like one already.' I recalled what happened during one of the Under Quests that I took upon, which consisted of getting a certain card at a certain spot and it was supposed to be a solo quest. But when I got to the place in the marked spot, I found out that there were 59 others as well who didn't know that others were involved as well and only one person could get it, so we had to fight to decide who got it in the end through a Vanguard Battle Royale tournament, which I won after defeating the other 59 people. And when I met the guy who had organized the quest, he had the gall to say that it was enjoyable to watch the ants fighting amongst themselves for the prize like that when asked about the doublebooking, I on the other hand, got really pissed off and kicked his butt after he gave me out the points.

"Did you just decieve me?" I asked him with a dangerous tone.

"What's gotten into you?" Tokoha, who saw that I was mad, "You don't usually react like this."

"It's that someone did that to me once in a Under Quest that I took and it was a huge mess." I explained them what happened.

"A battle royale of 60 people!?" Kamui shouted as everyone in the store looked at him. "Why didn't you told me about this!? This Kamui would have joined that Under Quest!"

"I'm telling Misaki-san about this." I whispered to him with a amused tone. "You're not supposed to say anything about the Underquests in the shop."

"Please don't!" Kamui begged for me to not run my mouth. "I'll pay."

'I am not going to tell her because you already got it bad the other day because of the croquette bread.' I thought as I turned to the trio.

"Now, you get it why I wasn't amused by the double-booking that Lamb there did just now?" I asked them.

'Seriously, who employs 60 people, without letting them know, so that they will fight amongst each other?' Shion and Ogawa wondered as Tokoha was not surprised by this.

"But, now that is cleared, who will complete the Quest?" I looked at Ogawa, who was taken a bit back by my gaze.

"How about this." He proposed." Whoever finds her and brings us together will have completed the Quest."

"That's more like it." I nod in agreed and chuckled.

"This is a challenge for me." Tokoha accepted the challenge as she chuckled as well.

"With no hard feelings for when I win it." Shion declared that he would win with a chuckle as well.

"S-scary." Ogawa was scared by our combined chuckles.

"At any rate, all we have to go around with is the fact that she's the same age as us and uses Angel Feather." "Do you remember anything else about her?"

"C-come to think of it." Ogawa started to talk.

"Come to think of it..?" We asked at the same time.

"There was a Olivier Gaillard mascot doll attached to her bag." He mentioned the name of the most well known Gold Paladin user.

"Olivier Gaillard?" Shion asked as Tokoha also seem to not know who he was.

"He is a famous Euro League fighter who is on the same Team as Phillip Neve and Kai Toshiki and they are the best Team in the Euro League Circuit." I told them a bit about Gaillard. "He is know to be a Gold Paladin user that uses 'Liberator' units. Not to mention, he is one of the best fighters in the world."

I took a sit to think about all the possibilities of how to find this girl while looking at her 'Battle Cupid, Nociel' card.

'We don't have anything to go by, not even a single keyword that is relevant to serch for, except that she is a fan of Olivier Gaillard, but there are tons of them out there.'

"Hey!" Tokoha yelled at me as I turned to look at her. "Don't hog that card for yourself!"

"Shut up, I'm thinking." I told her to be quiet.

"We must move out as soon as possible." Move out?

'There's no need for us to move, we just need to make her come to us.' A idea came in a flash. 'And the bait is already here.'

"That's it!" I looked at Shion, the bait. "It's time for your popular face to be put to work once again!"

"What?" He asked.

"You're going to make a Angel Feather clan gathering for girls only in this shop Quest." I added. "And if it's you, they will come like an army of ants to take a good look at the display that will be present."

"I get it!" Shion took out his FICA and created the Quest. "It's done. All we have to do now is wait."

"Even if the girl we are looking for doesn't come, one of them will be bound to know something, good thinking, Shindou." He praised my idea.

"It's all for the sake of the Quest, so don't thank me yet." I told him as we were waiting for the girls to show up.

And as we expected, a large group of Angel Feather female fighters came here to see Shion and he and Tokoha began to ask around for any clues about the girl in question.

"Why are you not asking around?" Shion, who was acompanied by a group of girls who went away when they saw me, asked. "After all, this was your idea."

"It's not like I don't want to help out, but even if I tried to ask around, it would be pointless." I decided to enlighten him. "If I tried to speak with them, they would just either going to lie or avoid me completely." It was true, I failed a few quests because the girls that were involved in them always refused to help me when I needed the most, so as a result my trust in them was very short.

"You should have more faith in these girls." Shion didn't even noticed that they went away from the moment they saw me.

"Have you already forgotten how I got accused by the other girls at school during the voleyball ball's incident?" I asked, fully aware that he would know right away where I was going with this.

"I see..." Shion remembered the incident which the girls accused me only because I happened to be around, when it was obvious that I wasn't responsible, which meant that I wasn't very liked by the girls even if I didn't do anything wrong. "You really aren't popular with girls."

"Exactly." There was no need to say any further, but I decided to give him an example. "Just watch."

"Excuse me, there was something that I need to ask." I tried to talk a group of girls who just avoiding me instead of answering before turning back to Shion. "And this is why I don't even bother to try."

"I get your point." He quickly understood the futility of me even trying. "I'll just ask around."

"Guys!" Tokoha called us out, getting our attention. "I've got a clue." She explained to us that girl's father runs a clinic.

"A Hospital Clinic!?" I yelled, recalling a painfull experience with a special object at the Hospital.

"Is there something wrong?" Tokoha asked me when she saw that weird look in my face.

"No, it's nothing." I lied, knowing that she wasn't going to buy it.

"If you say so." She bought it.

We went to Kamui to ask him to lend us researching resources. Shion got a laptop and Tokoha got a map of the entire district. I on the other side...

"Here's your research material." Kamui handed me over a huge phonelist. "Start digging."

"Are you taking their side over mine?" I really felt betrayed by Kamui's good for nothing resource. "Because you just gave me the worst resource of them all."

"I just gave you the best resource of them all, so you should feel proud." Kamui says with pride in his face. "Besides you want to get points, right? So more research and less complaining."

"Bullshit!" I grabbed him by the collar and called off his scam. "There is no way that a fucking phonelist is going to help me find anything relevant in this search!"

"Language, Shindou!" Tokoha yelled with a smirk at the miserable resource that I got from Kamui as I groaned and let go of his collar.

"They get to use the internet, the maps and I'm struck with this..." The world indeed wasn't fair at all.

"I'm going." Shion left the shop.

"Let's follow him." Tokoha suggested as I did while leaving this good for nothing heavy book behind.

"Ryuga, the book!" Kamui's words were completely ignored.

We were following Shion around at the same rythm, which made an impression on him, since he had printed a full list of the hospitals around the districts.

"I don't mind you two following me around." Shion told us as we kept following him around. "But you could at least help me looking."

"I was the one who found the clue." Tokoha said while avoiding to look at us.

"You are the one who got a hold of the information resources, so I don't have any choice but to follow you." I admited the truth, unlike the green-haired girl that was walking by my side. "So if you want any help, share the info."

"I might as well do that since there is a lot of ground to cover." He showed us the charts, making us both sigh.

"You weren't joking." I said while taking a look at the sixth page.

"This might take a while." Tokoha said.

"I might have a way to cover most of the ground." He picked his phone and made a few calls.

"Who do you think he is calling?" Tokoha whispered to me.

"Probably another rich boy, who will inherit the family's hospital one day." I also whispered to her.

We could only watch as he spoke out with wealthy individuals and entered expensive places.

"With this we have covered most of the big Hospitals." Shion says with a satisfied expression as we gave him a deadpan look. "What?"

"You rich kids really are a big network, huh?" I asked.

"Let's just start our search, for real." Shion decided to ignore what I just said as we went to the first clinic.

A few minutes later we arrived at the first clinic, but instead of entering it, I stayed outside.

"Aren't you going to enter?" Shion asks.

"Nah, you can fetch the info out of the staff inside." I really didn't want to go inside.

"Don't complain if we find the girl's father before you." Tokoha says.

'Not that you can do anything without the card.' I thought. ' I'd rather be stalked by Ibuki than going inside.'

(After going throught three clinics)

"Why do you keep insisting on not going inside?" Shion, who's lack of cooperation from my part was starting to get on his nerves, asked. "I didn't paid real attention at the first time, but we are already at the fouth clinic and you are still refusing to go in, it's like you want to avoid them at any costs.

"That's because I don't want to enter one of those." I admited.

"That's it!" Tokoha, who was getting tired of my childish attitude, linked her arm with mine and started to drag me inside. "You're going in this time!"

"No, I am NOT going inside!" I yelled as I easily counterdragged Tokoha to the oposite side when I was about to step inside. I quickly released myself from the arm link and glued myself to the nearest tree so that they couldn't drag me inside.

"He's not budging at all." Shion complained as they were trying to get me inside the clinic as my arms were glued to the tree and they couldn't force me to let go despite their efforts to pull me out.

"Why are you acting like a baby, Shindou!?" Tokoha asked me as I refused to let go of the tree, turned and looked at them to answer.

"Look, doctors give shots and I hate shots, so I avoid doctors." Tokoha and Shion blinked twice before they started to laught at this revelation.

"Who knew that you had a childish weakness like that." Shion said as he was still laughting.

"I didn't think that you of all people would be afraid of taking a vaccine shot." Tokoha was still laughting as well.

'I want to see you two laugh when you get the needle.' I thought as the feeling of getting that sting hurted a lot.

"Yes, now can you just come with us?" Tokoha stopped laughing. "I will buy us a croquette bread tomorrow after school if you come."

"Let's go already!" I entered the hospital.

"Bought by food..." Shion couldn't help but sigh.

"That's Shindou for you." Tokoha couldn't help but smile.

We spended a few minutes searching from hospital until we came crossed the last one off the list.

(Card Capital 2)

"Why can't we find her?" I asked to nobody in particular as I was sitting on a bench with Tokoha and Shion right besides me.

'We seached every hospital in the district and we didn't get anything.' Did we missed on somthing?

"I don't know..." A tired Shion said.

"I'm exausted..." Tokoha wasn't doing any better than Shion.

"Come on guys." Kamui decided to motivate us. "Have you already given up?"

"Don't group me with them!" Tokoha says with closed eyes.

"For some reason, these two were following me around." Shion said with the 'I have no idea' sign.

"..." I didn't said anything because complaining wouldn't help us to find the girl, for now we should eat and recharge our batteries. "For now, we should go downstairs and eat some okonomiyaki, it's on me."

We went down to eat as I took the useless book with us this time to kill time while we rest.

Tokoha and I were making our okonomiyakis while Shion just kept looking at the food.

"Aren't you going to make yours?" I asked Shion, who was just watching us cook. "It's on me, so you can start making yours."

"I never eat this kind of thing at home. So I don't know how to make them." Shion admits.

"Just pay attention and you will learn how to make it." I told him to watch and learn.

'The keyword is clinic...could it be that we misunderstood the true meaning of the keyword?' I realized something while I was finishing making my okonomiyaki.

"Anjou." he turned her head to me as I turned my okonomiyaki around. "Are you sure that she said that it was a hospital clinic?"

"She only said clinic...wait, are you saying..." She realized it as well while turning her okonomiyaki around.

"We had assumed that she was talking about a hospital, but in fact she could have been talking about a hair clinic the whole time." Shion concluded as we nod.

"Let's investigate after our meal." We kept making my okonomiyaki while working on Shion's.

"Kiba, investigate the names of the owners of the hair clinics while I finish making your food." I ordered him as mine was finished and turned his around.

"Don't order me around." Shion rebutes as I finished his and we began to eat before heading on to investigate the hair clinics on the phone book.

'Well, Kamui, you resource was usefull after all.' I decided to apologize to him after this was over.

(A few minutes later)

We went to investigate all the places, and for my misfortune, my swirled hair became the main topic...until we got to another place.

"Hello!" Tokoha gave the first greeting.

"Welcome!" The owner greeted us.

"Excuse us, do you have a daughter who plays Vanguard?" I went straight to the topic this time.

"Vanguard?" The owner greeted us. "Oh, the card game that Hinako is into?"

'Finally!' We finally did it.

"Do you need something from Hinako?" He asked us.

"You see..." I explained him the entire situation with the lost card.

"I see." He understood what was going on. "I'm sorry that you came all this way, but she is at the cheer tournament today.

"Cheer?" We asked at the same time.

"You mean cheerleading?" I asked.

"Yes." He admits. "Hinako always liked to do that since elementary school."

"Did she participate near this area a month ago?" Tokoha pointed him the map of the district near Card Capital 2.

"It must have been a preliminarie qualification." He answers. "It was around the same area as that card shop."

"Now it makes sense why Ogawa encountered her, she must have been at the shop after returning from the cheer tournament at the time." I pointed out the truth of how Ogawa saw her that day as Tokoha and Shion nod in agreement.

"Ogawa?" He asks.

"The guy who-" Tokoha placed her hand in front of my mouth to cover it, in order to not let me finish what I was about to say.

"Are you mad?" She whispered to my ear once again. "If you let her father know, he will try to oppose their union."

"Didn't think about it." I admited to her while whispering. "My bad."

(In a certain school's entrance.)

"T-there she is!" Ogawa pointed out to a hazel-haired girl in a ponytail who was acompanied by four of her fellow cheerleaders.

"So that's her..." I had to give him a credit, he knew how to pick them alright. "You sure have excellent taste, congrats."

"You have a high-class taste!" Tokoha commented on the girl. "She's a fine match for you."

"Like they say, there's no accounting for taste, so you may have hope..." Shion said, not believing that Ogawa had a chance.

"Don't be like that, Kiba!" I scolded him for his lack of faith. "Good luck in giving her the card, Ogawa." I gave him a thumbs up as I didn't call him a lamb this time.

"I don't care who does it, just give her the card!" Ogawa just tells us to give her the card. "Here, please."

'Are you shitting me?' I thought. 'After all we went throught to find her.'

"After all, you're the one who wants to see her!" Tokoha said.

"If she finds out that I used a Quest to look for her just so I could return the card, she'll think that I am creepy, of course!" Ogawa was acting like a chicken.

"You have got to be kidding." I said, shaking my head for Ogawa's lack of courage. "You were the one who wanted her found., so get a grip!"

"A-anyways, if you give it to her for me, I will give you the points for the quest." Ogawa was using the completion of the quest as an excuse to avoid having to meet her. "You have no complains about that, right?"

"I can't do that." Shion says.

"There's no point to this quest, unless you give it back to her yourself." Tokoha says.

"If I could do that, I wouldn't have gone through all this trouble..." Ogawa was still hesitating.

"Fine." I snatched the card from him.

"Hey, Shindou!" Tokoha complained at my action.

"You're unbelivable." Shion also complained about what I did. "Is finishing this quest all you care about?"

"We are going to play a card game." I placed my FICA on table mode and took out sixteen cards from my jackpocket and began to make a perfect shuffle nine times after putting the 'Batle Cupid, Nociel' card on the top of the deck.

"All of them are different units, including the one I just placed here. If you manage to draw out 'Batle Cupid, Nociel' , you give it to her without any further complains." I explained how this game worked. "And to make sure that there are no cheats, each one of us will cut the deck twice, you will decide the first card cut and I will always do the second one. Is that ok with you?"

"I guess that's fine." Ogawa didn't see any problem with that.

"What is he thinking?" Tokoha asked Shion, who had an idea of what was going on. "Gambling like that again."

'Could it be that he set up this game, knowing that this could happen?' Shion thought. 'If so, we already won.'

"I will cut eight cards." Ogawa chose to cut eight cards as I placed the top eight cards on the bottom of the deck.

"In that case...I will cut seven cards." I moved seven cards to the bottom.

"This time I'm cutting six." I moved six cards to the bottom.

"For the last one, I will cut 14 cards." I did the final cut. "Now If this card is the right one, you will return it yourself. But if it's not, I will do it instead."

"B-but." Ogawa began to hesitate. "What if she doesn't like me?"

"Stop being a coward!" I yelled at Ogawa, who went to hide behind Tokoha. "If you don't chose now, when will you do it then!?"

"Be more delicate, Shindou!" Tokoha yelled at me again. "He is scared of being rejected."

'She's right, I have to be more pacient, otherwise he will just run away.' I decided to change my aproach to tempt him to draw the card.

"You like her, don't you?" I asked him as he got out of his hidding spot. "How much do you love her?"

"I don't know." Ogawa admits that he is unsure of himself. "I will most likelly fail to draw it."

"You don't know what you're going to draw until you try it." I encouraged him. " If you are meant for each other, you'll definetely draw it."

"Go for it, you can do it!" Ogawa looked at Tokoha who nod her head, then looked at Shion.

"Yeah." Shion also agreed as he nod his head.

"Okay!" Ogawa finally made up his mind and drew the card with his eyes closed and opened them slowly.

"B-B-B-Battle Cupid, Nociel!" He saw the card that decided his fate. "I'm going to give it back to her!" Ogawa went to her and handed the card, she looked happy.

"It looks like it ended well." Shion said.

"I hope it works out." Tokoha wished him good luck.

"Best regards, Lamb...no, Ogawa." I also wished him the best of luck in his relationship with that Hinako girl.

(A few minutes later)

"This is really vexing." I said as we walked in the street.

"What's wrong?" Shion asked.

"I feel that I should have gotten half of the points instead of a third of them." I complained about how the points got shared.

"You should be glad that you got anything, considering how useless you were today." Tokoha says as she recalls my embarassing moment in front of the hospital.

"It was me who realized that it was a hair clinic instead of a medical clinic in the first place, so I should have gotten most of the points at least." I rebuted her.

"That was just dumb luck." Shion says as he believes that he would have stood a chance on his own. "Sorry, the odds were in my favor from the beginning."

"From the beginning?" I gave him a teasing look.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" He asked with a deadpan face.

"Luck or not, it happened regardless of what you two say from this point on." I rebuted back. "And I was the one who made him give her the card in the end, so that makes me the winner of this Quest."

"Okay, okay. Stop it." Tokoha stopped our argument.

"Althought to be honest, I have a new respect for you." Shion said that to me. "Despite the attitudes that you usually display, you're a real good guy."

"What are you talking about?" I asked raising my right eyebrow while pretendidng that I didn't do anything.

"You don't have to hide it." Shion told us his theory of what I did to the cards. "You set up the game so that he would have won regardless."

"Shindou did?" Tokoha asked. "How?"

"After all, they were all the same card, weren't they?" He concluded that I did something like that. "So no matter what he drew, it would be the right card."

"And the act you pulled to make the game sound real, it was an excellent performance." Shion praised me. "It sealed the deal in a way that no suspicions could be raised since we were there as well."

"Oh! You're really considerate!" Tokoha praised as she gave me a strong slap in the back, pushing me to the front a bit. "You've earned my respect once again."

'If you think that I would do something as childish as that, you really need to eat a lot of vegetables.' I thought as I decided to reveal the truth. 'And what does she mean by again?'

"There is no way I had 16 copies of the same card." I showed the rest of them being the spare Gear Chronicle cards that I didn't use anymore to their disapointment.

"Hey! What were you going to do if he drew the wrong card!?" Tokoha yelled at me.

"I never considered the possibility of failure." I answered her, disapointing them both.

"I feel that my expectations of you were completely betrayed." Shion said with a sigh as well.

'You shouldn't create expectations for others, it only leads you to disapointment, Shion'. I thought as they sighed and began to leave.

"I gave him too much credit." Shion criticized me.

"I feel like an idiot for being impressed by you, even for a moment." Tokoha did the same and whispered. "Even you were so cool the other day."

"It's not like I didn't made a trick for it, though." I told them as they stopped and turned to look at me.

"What do you mean?" They asked at the same time.

"During the Underquest that required me to go to a casino, I had to play a special variety of Poker against a few people in card games and believe me, my opponent's were really good at it, so I had to find a way to place the cards in the order I wished without raising suspicions and somehow it worked." I told them about the VERY close calls that I got using this method.

"Of course it goes all the way to the Under Quests." Tokoha sighed at the thought of them.

"How didn't they caught up to it if they were experts at this?" Shion asked since gamblers usually don't fall for the antics of a minor like us.

"No, they didn't because they didn't had enough of this to understand what I did." I pointed at my brain.

"What does your brain has anything to do with this?" Tokoha asked while Shion was starting to get what I was talking about.

"By systematically changing the cards through a perfect shuffle, certain results were always guaranteed to happen since they used a new Deck of cards each time a new round started. And since the order of the card's deck were always the same, all I had to do was track the location of all cards and it was done."

"But the most important part of those games, it was that my opponent's were experts at reading expressions, so I had to manipulate the deck in a way that I would always win." Let me tell you, those snakes may have the eyes to read a person, but they don't ever think of reading the cards.

"So if I did it a certain number of times, the order of the cards would go back to their original state." I continued my explanation of how I won those games.

"So I decided to apply the same trick that I used to win those games." I finished explaining them the systematic change that I did when the perfect shuffles ocurred as I used other cards to give them a demonstration, which left them both impressed.

"After all, only an idiot would have left something of this importance to chance." I said to them as Shindou Chrono in an parallel universe sneezed.

* * *

(In a different world)

"Did you caught a cold Chrono?" Kamui from the same parallel universe asked Chrono as they were in the middle of their fight.

"I don't think so Kamui-san, but I get the feeling that someone just made fun of me." Chrono answered him as he swore that he was mocked by someone from far away.

* * *

 **Chapter 9 Preview:**

 **Turn 9 - The birth of a new team.**

 **Ryuga is not having any success in creating a team, that is until Kamui cooks up one of his usual schemes. To improve their teamwork as a team, Shion decides to enter the team into a tournament in another area, but trouble will come during the final match.**


End file.
